The Bethesda, Maryland, company projects increases in loans and deposits as its C&I lending strategy gears up. Criticized and past-due loans appear to be declining even with a jump in nonperforming assets.

The Virginia-based bank said the Federal Reserve signed off on its acquisition of Sandy Spring Bancorp in Maryland. The transaction was the third-largest bank deal announced in 2024. It could be finalized as soon as April.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that auto lenders' use of reposession agents spiked to nearly 70% in 2022, up from 31% in 2018, resulting in higher costs for consumers.

Mercantile Bank Corp. in Grand Rapids achieved a 20% increase in deposits in 2024, an amount that was ample enough to fund robust loan growth and scale back reliance on costlier wholesale funding.

Frontwave Credit Union said it would acquire Community Valley Bank in a deal that would expand its footprint in San Diego and nearby counties. It comes on the heels of a record year for CU-bank combinations.

The Cleveland-based parent company of KeyBank is forecasting net interest income growth of about 20% for 2025, even as it predicts that average loan balances will decline by low-to mid-single digits year-over- year.

The Indiana-based company grew fourth-quarter loans and profits in part because of an acquisition in Nashville, and it expects to bulk up further with a deal in Minnesota's Twin Cities that was among the largest announced in 2024.

The Chicago-based bank, which failed Friday in the first bank failure of 2025, caused a $28.5 million hit to the Deposit Insurance Fund. The FDIC was appointed receiver and Millennium Bank will assume all deposits.

President Trump has promised to reduce banking regulations, a form of indirect tax or "bank tariff," that will help the banking industry. But, he also plans to impose new tariffs on imports that may adversely impact agricultural and manufacturing industries and thus their banks.

The super-regional bank plans to invest in talent, technology and certain locations in 2025, while keeping its expenses in check, to achieve the promise of the merger that created it, CEO Bill Rogers said.