The agreement to acquire Vantage Financial in Minnesota comes less than a year after Peoples Bank purchased North Star Leasing in Vermont.

The deal is the latest example of a mainstream bank buying a point-of-sale lender focused on financing home improvement projects.

Democrats largely left the financial sector alone last year. But they are attempting to resurrect a bank tax-reporting plan to help pay for President Biden’s social policy package while keeping a close eye on cryptocurrency and how regulators review mergers.

The Alabama bank is buying Clearsight Advisors to add to its booming capital markets division.

A clash among FDIC board members has intensified a debate about whether regulators should take a tougher look at large M&A deals. House Financial Services Chair Maxine Waters added to the frenzy by calling for a moratorium on approving big acquisitions.

Founded in the wake of the global financial crisis, KBRA has issued more than 51,000 ratings representing almost $3 trillion in rated issuance since 2010.

While the indicative portfolio has an average credit quality of ‘B’ or ‘B-,’ Fitch also points out that the class A-1 notes have a 43.0% credit enhancement level.

The deal for Summit Financial furthers First Financial’s strategy of acquiring national niche business lines.

The bank, which acquired General Electric’s health care lending business in 2015, is looking to expand its presence amid a merger boom in the sector.

The Rhode Island bank has entered into an agreement to acquire JMP Group, which focuses on the health care, technology, financial services and real estate sectors.