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.