Reading Cooperative's combination with Wakefield Cooperative, the third deal involving Boston-area banks announced in the past month, would create a $1.2 billion community bank.

Chris Gorman and four other high-ranking KeyCorp executives have been granted a combined $16.7 million in performance-based equity awards that will vest in two years, as long as the Cleveland-based company meets certain capital requirements and earnings goals.

The Florida company completed its purchase of Independent Bank, increasing its liability sensitivity and jumping to $65 billion in assets.

The unprecedented number of deals came in a year when banks struggled to find merger partners in their markets.

The Honolulu-based utility sold a 90.1% stake in American Savings Bank. The deal valued the lender at $450 million.

The trend of credit unions buying banks is a lightning rod for controversy in the banking industry. Despite this, such mergers are increasingly common.

Community banking highlights in 2024 included strong deposit growth at a Los Angeles-based digital-only bank, continued regulatory scrutiny of banking-as-a-service arrangements, along with a transformational deal in the Old Dominion.

A record 22 credit unions announced plans to acquire banks in 2024, though the year ended on a discordant note as regulatory concerns appear to have derailed a planned CU-bank deal in Georgia.

These banks are expected to draw regulatory scrutiny in the coming year. 

The Seattle-based company's deal with Bank of America comes five weeks after the termination of its planned sale to FirstSun Capital Bancorp in Denver.