The $23 million cash transaction boosts Old Second's presence in its home Windy City market, while marking Muncie, Indiana-based First Merchants' exit from Illinois.

The combination, expected to close next year, would create a regional bank with $17 billion of deposits across 10 states.

The North Carolina-based bank doubled in size in 2022 and again last year, when it acquired the failed Silicon Valley Bank. It has used consistency to outperform peers.

U.S. Eagle Federal Credit Union said it plans to acquire Southwest Capital Bank in a transaction slated to close next year. It would help the buyer expand its cannabis banking operation.

The planned Bay State deal comes two months after the Minneapolis-based Thrivent said it plans to merge a credit union it controls into a new industrial bank.

The overall size of the combined entity is trivial compared to industry behemoths. It is evident the benefits to consumers from the Capital One-Discover merger dramatically exceed the speculated harms that caution against it.

A Northwest credit union announced plans this week to buy a community bank, lifting the 2024 total of such deals to 13 and putting the year on track to set a record. The all-time annual high of 16 was set in 2022.

The Chicago-area bank closed the fifth-largest deal announced this year in a matter of months. It may bode well for M&A, as several big transactions have been announced in 2024.

Specialized Portfolio Servicing's sale resolves questions about it that arose when UBS bought the troubled Credit Suisse last year.

KeyCorp wasn't seeking capital but saw the benefits of Scotiabank's minority stake. The deal would enable the Canadian lender to step into the U.S. consumer market.