Proposed capital rules aimed at bigger institutions will force regional and larger community banks to consider ways to grow or seek an exit strategy, bankers and analysts predict.

Equity, based in Wichita, Kansas, has agreed to buy the parent company of the Bank of Kirksville. The combined company would have $5.4 billion of assets and 74 branches, including 23 in Missouri.

The Pennsylvania bank has agreed to sell its Exchange Underwriters subsidiary to World Insurance Associates for $30.5 million, saying that the deal will help pad its capital and liquidity.

The two companies announced the deal more than a year ago and had anticipated closing it in the first half of 2023. But advocacy groups have urged regulators to withhold approval, arguing that it will hurt consumers.

United Federal Credit Union plans to enter the state through a merger next year, and that could be a problem for Keystone-state banks and credit unions that are already struggling to grow.

The Toronto-based company is now forecasting more than $800 million USD in annual cost savings as a result of its Bank of the West acquisition in February. That's up nearly 20% from an earlier projection.

Synchrony Financial bought Pets Best ahead of a pandemic-driven surge in the pet insurance business. Now it's selling the subsidiary for a $750 million after-tax gain.

The Champaign, Illinois-based company said it would pay $41.6 million to acquire Merchants and Manufacturers Bank Corp., which has five branches in the Greater Chicago area.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has been a prolific acquirer, purchasing the insurance brokerages from multiple banks over the last year. Its management has indicated it has another $3.5 billion that it can use for more deals.

Dream Chasers upped its bid for Carver, one of the nation's largest and highest-profile Black banks, by a quarter, to $3.25 per share, dismissing the growth strategy interim CEO Craig MacKay outlined in a recent shareholder letter.

OneMain Financial, which mainly offers consumer installment loans, is paying $115 million to buy a small subprime auto lender from the investment bank Jefferies.

OFG Bancorp's CEO José Rafael Fernández has weathered tough times during Puerto Rico's economic downturn. Now he is hopeful that his bank can seize on the better times ahead.

The $7.7 billion-asset federal credit union in East Lansing announced its third deal in as many months — the planned purchase of in-market peer Gabriels Community Credit Union. And it has two bank acquisitions pending.

The agreement includes funds for small-business lending and mortgages for low- and moderate-income borrowers in California and Massachusetts. It puts an end to questions about the fate of an $11.2 billion plan that Silicon Valley Bank inked before it failed in March.

The deal for SimplyBank, scheduled to be completed in the second quarter, would give First Financial in Terre Haute, Indiana, additional branches in Tennessee and its first presence in Georgia.

Roy and Bertrand Sosa have retaken control of Netspend to combine it with their other firm, Rev Worldwide, to build the companies into an international financial services provider.

Proceeds from the sale provide the bank with "flexibility to evaluate and pursue various strategic initiatives to redeploy capital in support of our core banking business," Evans CEO David Nasca said.

A.E.A. Federal Credit Union in Yuma said it would acquire West Valley National Bank in a bid to expand into Phoenix and Las Vegas.

The Zurich-based bank posted a net loss of $785 million for the three months to September, its first quarterly loss in almost six years, as costs to absorb Credit Suisse came in at $2 billion. However, client inflows in its wealth management business — which included $3 billion of that was at Credit Suisse's wealth arm — exceeded expectations.

Many banks tapped the brakes on mergers and acquisitions this year amid economic and regulatory challenges. But executives at banks with a history of dealmaking say conditions could be right for them to return to buying mode next year.