The Federal Reserve and OCC approved the company's plan to buy Independent Bank Group in Texas, putting the deal on track to close early next year as expected. In an atmosphere of M&A delays for banks, the deal is on a relatively smooth path.

The Columbus, Ohio-based bank said its all-stock bid for Penns Woods Bancorp would expand its footprint and give it $1.7 billion of deposits and $1.9 billion of loans.

The combination would create a Northeast regional bank with nearly $24 billion of assets. It would rank as the eighth-largest bank in the Boston metropolitan area by deposit market share.

Upbound currently focuses on lease-to-own products. Brigit will help it expand its offerings, but the fintech faced an FTC complaint last year.

The bank has hired an advisory firm to assess a potential sale, a capital raise or a strategic partnership after a prior merger fell through.

The merger pairs the fintech's consumer lending platform with Gen Digital's identity-protection services, such as Norton, LifeLock and ReputationDefender.

A slower rate of price increases would boost the likelihood of an interest-rate cut that could expand loan demand and lower banks' deposit costs. A higher pace of inflation, however, could derail those catalysts.

The cash-and-stock bid for Enterprise Bancorp is expected to close in the second half of 2025. In connection with the deal, Independent plans to raise about $250 million in subordinated debt.

The industry hopes that the bigger hurdles to bank mergers under President Biden will fade in the new administration. But populist opposition to consolidation in the tech sector could spill over into banking.

The Greenville, South Carolina-based company said it would pay $80 million in stock to acquire ANB Holdings and its Miami-area bank.