M&A

Investment bankers working on mergers and acquisitions need to review their due diligence processes to ensure deals aren't upended by an evolving set of ESG risks, according to Berkeley Research Group.

The Connecticut bank plans to add interLINK to its diverse stable of deposit-gathering businesses. A community bank in Texas had previously reached a deal to purchase the platform, but that transaction fell apart in September.

Both Canadian banks are awaiting green lights from regulators for their pending acquisitions of U.S. banks. "We don't control the timing of all the regulatory approvals," TD's chief executive said Thursday.

The transaction, which would have created the country's largest custody bank, was derailed after regulators demanded certain changes. The seller said that it has no plans to find a new buyer for its investor services business.

The Canadian banking giant reached a five-year deal with community groups that includes $40 billion in investments to underserved groups. BMO aims to close its acquisition of San Francisco-based Bank of the West before the end of the year.

Banks are underwater on many bonds they bought before interest rates began their sharp rise. The impact has been wide-ranging — decreasing the industry's interest in stock buybacks, dampening the appetite for M&A and raising concerns about some smaller institutions' ability to borrow from the Federal Home Loan banks.

The acquisition will add $8 billion of assets under management to the Illinois bank's wealth subsidiary. It marks another example of U.S. banks bolstering their wealth management businesses in a bid to collect more fee income.