There were 27 bank acquisitions worth $5.45 billion announced in the second quarter as of mid-June. That was more than the $5.2 billion combined value of deals announced over the previous five quarters.

Atlanta Postal Credit Union's bid to acquire Affinity Bank marked the 11th deal overall this year involving a credit union buying a bank, matching the total for all of 2023. Separately, members voted against the merger of two credit unions in Indiana.

West Coast Community Bancorp agreed to acquire 1st Capital Bancorp in an all-stock deal slated to close in the fourth quarter.

Bank stocks are up this year as interest rates have leveled off and there are hopes that pressure on lenders' profits could moderate.

The Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a 30-page guidebook on managing affiliate risks. The report builds on formal guidance issued last year.

In talks with OCC officials, "it became obvious that we would not gain near-term approval given their recent experience with multifamily and CRE positions," FirstSun CEO Neal Arnold says. The companies announced other revisions to their deal, too.

Consolidation has slowed since the pandemic, but UMB's agreement to buy Heartland Financial — the largest deal in three years — is one of several merger announcements in the past two weeks. Talks among other potential buyers and sellers are said to be picking up.

The Philadelphia-based bank's parent company, Republic First Bancshares, had been roiled by a yearslong proxy battle involving activist investors groups and its former CEO.

Should the all-stock transaction close as planned later this year, Wintrust Financial in the Chicago area would gain about $2.7 billion of assets.

A solid majority of decision-makers at these companies expect to expand their workforces again this year, a Citizens Financial survey found. Loan losses are normally low in eras of economic expansion.