Transactions grew larger and more frequent this year. As a result, aggregate value more than tripled from 2023 and topped $15 billion.

This year saw the impact of Donald Trump's return to the White House, the first rate cut from the Federal Reserve in roughly four years and more.

The two companies continue to tick items off their year-end to-do list, which analysts hope will tee up the merger for finalization in early 2025. Regulatory approval remains a major question.

Hanscom Federal Credit Union in Massachusetts said it would acquire Peoples Bancorp and its insurance agency. It marked the 21st deal of the year involving a credit union buying a bank.

BNY announced expanded employee benefits and a boost in its minimum wage for all U.S.-based employees; Synovus has added former FIS executive Greg Montana to its executive board; National Bank Holdings sold off a fifth of its securities portfolio; and more in this week's banking news roundup.

The Pennsylvania-based buyer said it would pick up nearly $350 million of assets and a commercial-focused loan portfolio as part of the $54.6 million deal.

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.

The Sandy, Utah-based credit union opted to part with its two New Mexico branches to focus on other geographies. At least one expert expects an uptick in branch sales as more credit unions seek to "right-size" their networks.

St. Paul, Minnesota-based Bremer Financial agreed to sell for $1.4 billion in cash and stock. It followed a yearslong legal battle between the bank and its largest shareholder that ended with a settlement this year.

The Federal Reserve released additional information about its periodic review of its monetary policy strategy, tools and communications framework; TD Bank Group announced Michelle Myers will succeed Anita O'Dell as global chief auditor; Provident Financial Services will expand its commercial lending team; and more in this week's banking news roundup.

The companies held out hope that they'd get skeptical regulators to sign off on their $286 million deal before determining that canceling it was in their best interests.