First Busey finalized its acquisition of CrossFirst Bankshares; American Express agreed to buy expense management firm Center; Valley National Bank appointed a new president of commercial banking and a new CFO; and more in this week's banking news roundup.

Six proposals involving the purchase of a bank were terminated or rejected in 2024.

Banks have embraced the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s swift reversals on a range of topics, but the regulatory whiplash is complicating long-term business planning.

Following a record-setting 2024, only one transaction involving a credit union buying a bank has been announced so far this year. Seller concerns about regulatory approval and pushback from bank industry groups have contributed to the slowdown.

The chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions will reintroduce a bill at noon today designed to speed up the bank merger review process.

The top five bank M&A deals had an average deal value to tangible common equity ratio of nearly 185%.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. board of directors approved a proposal to roll back its 2024 merger policy, reinstating previous guidelines while charting a new policy toward bank combinations.

The Los Angeles-based parent company of Bank of Hope expects to complete its acquisition of Honolulu-based Territorial in April. The $79 million deal faced challenges when an investor group made a competing bid.

Lone Star Capital Bank's plan to merge into Rio Financial Services' banking subsidiary is one of several recently announced Texas M&A deals; David Sparacio will join Birmingham, Alabama's ServisFirst Bancshares as its chief financial officer; Capital City Bank names Ramsay Sims chief banking officer; and more in this week's banking news roundup.

The cloud-based digital banking provider signed an agreement to purchase the fintech for $400 million; the deal is expected to close by March 31.

The $15 billion-asset Seacoast is paying a hefty premium, but CEO Charles Shaffer called Heartland Bancshares an "incredibly valuable" franchise.

The card-issuing company has appointed CFO Mike Milotich as interim CEO as Simon Khalaf steps down. The firm also agreed to buy European payment provider TransactPay.

The largest independent digital investment advisor in the U.S. is buying the automated investing arm of the woman-focused company.

The changing of the guard at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and hope among bankers for mergers and acquisitions activity are popular items this month.

The Illinois company plans to acquire neighboring Bancorp Financial in a cash-and-stock transaction that would form the second largest community bank in the Chicago area.

The Champaign, Illinois-based bank said Jeffrey Jones stepped down from his post days before it could close its acquisition of CrossFirst Bankshares. Jones' exit was not deal related, Busey said.

Community Bankshares has launched a unit that is originating Small Business Administration 7(a) loans for itself and aims to service them for other small lenders around the country.

Deal advisors said the Trump administration's tariff threats and the specter of inflation have given some bankers reason to pause on acquisition plans. Momentum could still mount, but uncertainty in Washington is a detriment early in the new year.

The $35 billion transaction has faced pushback from critics on antitrust grounds since it was announced a year ago. The vote today puts the deal one step closer to closing.

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Rodney Hood suggested Tuesday that regulators should consider raising the dollar amount for mandatory suspicious activity reporting and revising the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index to advance bank mergers.