Goldman Sachs Group raised $5.2 billion for a private equity fund that will buy early-stage companies that are typically small in size, a sign of confidence in an industry that's confronting strong headwinds.

After decades in public markets, the Rothschild dynasty — one of the most storied names in banking — has decided its flagship bank is best in private hands.

Executives cited uncertainty created by surging interest rates, heightened regulatory scrutiny and the potential for a recession.

Grupo Mexico is close to lining up financing to back a more than $7 billion bid for Citigroup's Mexican retail bank Banamex, according to people familiar with the talks.

LevelField CEO Gene Grant says its strategy for merging with Burling Bank is super-conservative, despite an intention to serve the digital-asset community. "We've taken everything out of the business plan" that might give regulators pause, he says.

First Central Credit Union in Waco, Texas, agreed to purchase the branch and various assets from the bank, which is refocusing on its Harris and Tyler County markets.

A senior Commodity Futures Trading Commission official says the agency needs the power to approve or reject an unregulated company's acquisition of a derivatives exchange.

Banks need to be cautious about negotiating pre-merger Community Benefit Agreements with nationwide activist groups. The deals carry real reputational hazard.

Uncertainty surrounding the regulatory approval process and overall economic conditions will act as a brake on bank mergers and acquisitions in 2023, says John Corbett, CEO of Florida-based SouthState.

As deposits grow scarcer, the Stamford, Connecticut-based bank's acquisition of interLINK earlier this month promises to yield billions of dollars in core funding it can put to work paying down borrowings or purchasing securities, CEO John Ciulla says.

With the $7.5 billion acquisition, the Minneapolis bank bolstered its customer base in the nation's most populous state by more than 1 million. Earnings accretion from the combination could offset slower loan growth this year.

The loan-growth projections are for Columbia Banking System itself, before the Tacoma, Washington, bank officially merges with Umpqua Holdings. The $5 billion deal is scheduled to close Feb. 28.

Unrelenting pressure to improve efficiency could keep bank merger activity steady or even accelerate it despite several economic and regulatory factors except for one — credit quality, say two veteran Piper Sandler dealmakers.

CEO Bill Rogers stopped short of confirming or denying speculation that the bank is seeking a buyer for part of the unit.

The $104 million-asset Finex Credit Union in East Hartford plans to partner with the $52 million-asset First Connecticut Credit Union in Wallingford.

The Canadian banking giant also announced that Nandita Bakhshi, the San Francisco bank's CEO, will join the board of directors of its U.S. holding company and serve as a special advisor on integration.

Bank of Montreal has received approval from the the Federal Reserve to acquire San Francisco-based Bank of the West, a combination that will create the 15th-largest U.S. lender.

JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon called the firm's botched acquisition of the college financial-planning website Frank "a huge mistake" and vowed to share takeaways at a later date.

Anu Aiyengar, who was named co-head of global M&A in 2020, will be sole head of global mergers and acquisitions at JPMorgan Chase, making her the only woman to lead that franchise at a major Wall Street bank.

A lawsuit filed by the bank against the founder of a tech venture risks renewing concerns about JPMorgan's rapid deployment of shareholder cash in recent years.