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Commercial banking

The biggest bank M&A deals of the last decade

ByKevin Wack
March 16, 2022 9:00 PM

The last year and a half has seen a bank merger wave unlike any since the financial crisis of 2007 to 2009.

In fact, seven of the 10 largest deals of the last decade, as measured by the target’s asset size, have been announced since October 2020, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

In recent months, there have been signs that the M&A surge may soon come to an end. Regulators are facing pressure from the Biden administration to apply greater scrutiny to bank mergers, and members of the Democratic-controlled board of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. have signaled that they agree with the White House.

Meanwhile, approval times have lengthened. And recent market volatility, which makes deals harder to price, has contributed to a landscape in which bank CEOs say they are far more focused on organic growth than M&A.

But the large-bank deals have continued. Late last month, Toronto-Dominion Bank announced it had agreed to acquire the $89.1 billion-asset First Horizon in Memphis, Tennessee

Read on to learn how the TD-First Horizon deal stacks up among the industry's 10 largest of the last decade. The combinations are listed in order of the target’s asset size — from smallest to largest — based on data from S&P Global.

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KeyCorp-First Niagara Financial Group

Target’s asset size: $39.4 billion

Announced: Oct. 30, 2015

Completed: July 29, 2016

This $4.1 billion merger was the largest in the history of Cleveland-based KeyCorp. First Niagara, which was based in Buffalo, New York, had about 390 branches in New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Before the Federal Reserve signed off on the merger, Key said it would direct $16.5 million toward low- and moderate-income communities over five years. It also pledged to open a regional headquarters in western New York, and agreed to sell 18 branches in the Buffalo market to secure regulatory approvals.
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M&T Bank-Hudson City Bancorp

Target’s asset size: $43.6 billion

Announced: Aug. 27, 2012

Completed: Nov. 1, 2015

The closing of this merger was repeatedly delayed due to compliance issues at both the buyer and seller. Buffalo-based M&T was ordered to fix its anti-money-laundering controls, while Paramus, New Jersey-based Hudson City eventually settled regulators’ accusations of discriminatory lending.

In the end, the acquisition took more than three years to be completed — the longest delay ever for a U.S. bank deal valued at more than $1 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported.
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Huntington Bancshares-TCF Financial

Target’s asset size: $47.6 billion

Announced: Dec. 13, 2020

Completed: June 9, 2021

This $6 billion deal came close on the heels of TCF’s merger with Chemical Financial in 2019. With the acquisition of Detroit-based TCF, Huntington built a bigger presence in Chicago and gained access to the Denver and Minneapolis markets.

In connection with the merger, TCF agreed to sell 14 branches in Michigan in order to satisfy the Fed and the Department of Justice.
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First Citizens BancShares-CIT Group

Target’s asset size: $60.9 billion

Announced: Oct. 16, 2020

Completed: Jan. 3, 2022

When this $2.2 billion deal was announced in 2020, it was expected to create the nation’s 19th largest bank holding company.

First Citizens in Raleigh, North Carolina, which had more than 550 branches in 19 states, merged with a company that had evolved — through acquisitions — from being a commercial finance company into a more traditional commercial bank.

First Citizens and CIT originally expected to close the deal by Oct. 15, 2021, but later extended the deadline by more than four months because they had yet to receive the Fed’s approval. The central bank ultimately gave its unanimous approval in December.
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M&T Bank-People’s United Financial

Target’s asset size: $63.1 billion

Announced: Feb. 22, 2021

Scheduled to be completed: April 1, 2022

A $7.6 billion deal for Bridgeport, Connecticut-based People’s United offered a way for M&T to extend its reach deeper into New England.

The deal drew some pushback from elected officials in Connecticut last summer after M&T disclosed plans for post-acquisition layoffs that would mostly affect the selling bank’s employees. Last month, the two companies, which were still waiting for the Fed’s approval, formally delayed the deadline for closing the deal from Feb. 21 to June 1.

But just two weeks after the delay was announced, the Fed unanimously approved the deal. The merger is currently expected to close about 13 months after it was announced — far less than the 38-month wait to complete the M&T-Hudson City deal.
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Toronto-Dominion Bank-First Horizon Corp.

Target’s asset size: $89.1 billion

Announced: Feb. 28, 2022

Scheduled to be completed: Fourth quarter of 2022

TD’s $13.4 billion purchase of First Horizon would create a top-six U.S. bank by assets. It would also give the Canadian bank, which already has a large East Coast franchise, access to growing markets such as Atlanta and Dallas.

Under the deal’s terms, TD has until Nov. 27 to close the transaction before the price goes up by 65 cents per share. Analysts have expressed skepticism that the two companies will obtain the necessary regulatory approvals within the nine-month window that would allow TD to pay the lower price.
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PNC Financial Services Group-BBVA USA

Target’s asset size: $103.7 billion

Announced: Nov. 16, 2020

Completed: June 1, 2021

PNC funded this $11.6 billion deal with the proceeds from the May 2020 sale of its stake in BlackRock.

The acquisition accelerated the Pittsburgh-based bank’s plan to become a national banking franchise. PNC gained a presence in California, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona, while expanding its footprint in Alabama and Florida.

The sale of BBVA USA, a unit of Spain’s Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, is one of several recent examples of foreign banks offloading their U.S. retail banking operations.
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BMO Financial-Bank of the West

Target’s asset size: $105.4 billion

Announced: Dec. 20, 2021

Scheduled to be completed: Late 2022

This deal, another sale of a foreign-owned bank, would give Canada’s BMO Financial a sizable presence in California and several other Western states.

France’s BNP Paribas has owned San Francisco-based Bank of the West for more than four decades.

The buyer and seller have said that the $16.3 billion acquisition is expected to close by the end of the year. That timetable has met some skepticism from analysts, but BMO Chief Executive Darryl White said in December that the deal raises no financial stability concerns, no concerns about deposit concentrations and no competition issues.

“We think the transaction meets all the requirements for regulatory approval,” he said.
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U.S. Bancorp-MUFG Union Bank

Target’s asset size: $105.5 billion

Announced: Sept. 21, 2021

Scheduled to be completed: Second quarter of 2022

This $8 billion deal represents another sale by a foreign-owned bank — and another West Coast play by the purchaser.

MUFG Union Bank, which is owned by the Japanese banking giant Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, operates branches in California, Oregon and Washington state.

Last week, the Fed held a public hearing on the deal. Andy Cecere, the CEO of Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp, said that details were still being finalized on what would be the largest community benefits agreement in history. Several community leaders in California said they will oppose the acquisition until they see a finalized agreement.

U.S. Bancorp said in January that the deal was on track to close in the first half of 2022.
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BB&T-SunTrust Banks

Target’s asset size: $215.6 billion

Announced: Feb. 7, 2019

Completed: Dec. 6, 2019

The biggest M&A deal of the last decade combined two large banking franchises based in the Southeast.

Once BB&T in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, merged with SunTrust Banks in Atlanta, the company was renamed Truist Financial, which is headquartered in Charlotte.

The two companies, which were close to the same asset size, also worked out a unique management arrangement. BB&T Chief Executive Kelly King served as Truist’s chief executive from late 2019 until his retirement in September 2021. At that time, Bill Rogers, who had been SunTrust’s CEO, took the reins.
Kevin Wack
National Editor, American Banker
Commercial banking M&A Growth strategies
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