As bank merger-and-acquisition activity gathered momentum in 2024, deals grew larger and pricier.
There were at least 120 bank sales announced this year, S&P Global Market Intelligence data show. Those deals had an aggregate value of more than $15 billion. For all of last year, there were 98 deal announcements with a combined value of $4.2 billion.
High interest rates, economic uncertainty and increased regulatory scrutiny slowed activity in 2023. For acquisitive banks and their regulators, high borrowing costs and recession fears made it difficult to assess the health of would-be sellers and, by extension, to finalize deal terms.
But, after curbing inflation over the past two years, the Federal Reserve
There was only one eight-figure bank deal in 2023 — Los Angeles-based
In 2024, there were six bank combinations that cleared the billion-dollar threshold. The following are snapshots of those deals, ranked in ascending order.
No. 6 Berkshire Hills Bancorp-Brookline Bancorp
Boston banks
Combining the $11. 6 billion-asset Berkshire and the $11.7 billion-asset Brookline would create a regional bank with nearly $24 billion of assets. It would rank as the No. 8 bank by deposit market share in the Greater Boston area, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data.
The merged bank would have about $18 billion of deposits and $19 billion of loans. The larger company would span five Northeast states with nearly 150 branches.
"This highly compelling combination is a true merger of equals that will create a preeminent Northeast financial institution. Scale and efficiency combined with our shared culture of true community banking is a powerful driver of value for all of our stakeholders," Berkshire Chairman David Brunelle said.
The deal is expected to close late in 2025.
No. 5 Renasant Corp.-The First Bancshares
Tupelo, Mississippi-based Renasant Corp. in July announced a
The
The combination, expected to close in the first half of 2025, would create a six-state Southeastern banking franchise with about $25 billion of assets, $18 billion of loans and $21 billion of deposits.
"As with Renasant, The First has expanded into some of the most dynamic, fastest-growing markets in the Southeast," Renasant CEO Mitchell Waycaster said in announcing the deal.
"Together, we create a more valuable company with the meaningful scale needed to compete in today's operating environment," he said.
No. 4 Old National Bancorp-Bremer Financial
Old National Bancorp in Evansville, Indiana, said in November it would buy St. Paul, Minnesota-based Bremer Financial for
The $54 billion-asset Old National said in a press release that it would gain $16.2 billion of assets, $11.5 billion of loans and $13.2 billion of deposits. It would acquire 70 branches, comprising 48 in Minnesota, 14 in North Dakota and eight in Wisconsin.
Old National would become the third-largest bank in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area by market share should the combination close as planned in mid-2025.
Jim Ryan, Old National's chairman and CEO, highlighted in the deal announcement Bremer's "strong deposit franchise" and a "diversified loan portfolio accentuated by exceptional credit quality."
Old National has bulked up across the Midwest with several large deals over the past several years, including its nearly
No. 3 Atlantic Union Bankshares-Sandy Spring Bancorp
Glen Allen, Virginia-based Atlantic Union Bankshares said in October it
Atlantic Union would gain $14.4 billion of assets, creating a combined company with $39.2 billion of assets. The merged company would have total deposits of $32 billion and loans of $29.8 billion. The deal is slated to close by the end of the third quarter of 2025.
Atlantic Union's Mid-Atlantic footprint would add 53 branches and double its wealth business, increasing assets under management by more than $6.5 billion.
The deal would create an "enormously powerful franchise" that would rank as the No. 1 regional bank in both Virginia and Maryland, Atlantic Union CEO John Asbury said. The bank's footprint would stretch from Baltimore through Washington, D.C., to Richmond and Hampton Roads, a region Asbury termed the "golden crescent."
Atlantic Union would become "a preeminent regional bank, with Virginia as its linchpin, that spans the lower mid-Atlantic into the Southeast," Asbury said.
No. 2 UMB Financial-Heartland Financial USA
Kansas City, Missouri-based UMB Financial announced in April its $1.99 billion all-stock bid to acquire
The $45 billion-asset UMB said the acquisition of the $19 billion-asset Heartland would provide an important source of low-cost deposits to support UMB's growth strategy. It would also nearly double the size of UMB's branch and ATM networks, expanding them to 197 and 475, respectively.
The combination would create a 13-state branch footprint across parts of the Midwest, South and West. UMB currently operates in eight states — Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas — and would expand into California, Iowa, Minnesota, New Mexico and Wisconsin.
"I think we're really thinking about this from a standpoint of raw materials providing funding for growth," UMB Chairman and CEO Mariner Kemper said during a call with analysts.
The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025.
No. 1 South State Corp.-Independent Bank Group
Winter Haven, Florida-based SouthState Corp. announced in May a
The $45 billion-asset buyer, which spans the Southeast, would gain a toehold in the major Texas markets of Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston. Independent, based in McKinney, had about $19 billion of assets, $15.7 billion of deposits and $14.6 billion of loans when the deal was made public. In addition to Texas, it also operates in central Colorado.
Should the deal close as planned in the first quarter of 2025, the combined company would have nearly $65 billion of assets, deposits of $55 billion and loans of $48 billion.
SouthState CEO John Corbett said during a call with analysts to discuss the deal that he had long had his sights on Texas because of its diverse economy, relatively low costs and fast-growing big cities.
"We believe it's wise to allocate capital to markets where the state governments encourage business growth, and they don't penalize it with tax and regulatory burdens. We also believe it's wise to allocate capital where people are moving to, not where they're leaving from," Corbett said.
The Federal Reserve Board and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
