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.