Welcome to 2026. In this issue, the first of Volume 43 (yes, we have been doing this since 1983), we have provided a rundown of some of 2025's largest and most interesting bank combinations.

The consolidation trend is in full throttle and next week we plan on providing a similar update on M&A transactions that are still pending.

We would also like to call your attention to our new formatting. From now forward, we will include the volume and issue number in each blog post to make it easier to reference backwards. Like so:

Jumbo Rate News JRN 43:01

Two Words Dominated Banking in 2025: Mergers & Acquisitions

The New Year is now upon us. Before 2025 slid into the history books, however, the $14.2 billion asset 5-Star OceanFirst Bank, N.A., Toms River, NJ (28359) announced plans to acquire its $8.9 billion neighbor, 4-Star Flushing Bank, Uniondale, NY (58564) to create a $23 billion bank serving the Greater New York Area.

While this transaction, expected to close in the second quarter 2026, is by no means small, there were seven deals completed in 2025 that were a good deal larger. In fact, on page 5 we have listed 50 of the largest bank mergers/acquisitions of 2025. The list includes only transactions that were completed during the year. (Many others are still pending.)

This big cross-state transaction took place on September 1st on the West Coast: 5-Star Columbia Bank, Lake Oswego, OR (17266) (formerly Umpqua Bank) acquired 5-Star Pacific Premier Bank, N.A., Irvine, CA (32172) (JRN 42:30). At the end of the third quarter, Columbia Bank had total assets of $67.5 billion, an increase of about $15.6 billion.

In JRN 42:48, we reported year-over year Jumbo CD growth of 31.3% at the 5-Star Cadence Bank, Tupelo, MS (11813). What we didn’t mention was twofold: a) Cadence Bank acquired two holding companies and  seven small banks during that time; and b) Cadence Bank has now agreed to be acquired itself by $210 billion asset 5-Star Huntington NB, Columbus, OH (6560).

5-Star TownBank, Portsmouth, VA (35095) acquired two single-bank holding companies in 2025. On April 1st it purchased Village Bank, Midlothian, VA with about $740 million in assets. It followed that up with the September 1st purchase of Old Point National Bank of Phoebus, Hampton, VA, adding another $1.4 billion in assets.

TownBank now boasts nearly $20 billion in total assets and operates through 74 branch offices in Virginia (59) and North Carolina (15).

5-Star Northwest Bank, Warren, PA (28178) also acquired two banks in 2025. They were Luzerne Bank, Luzerne, PA, with $722 million in assets and Jersey Shore State Bank, Williamsport, PA, with assets of $1.6 billion.

With $16.4 billion in assets, Northwest Bank is smaller than TownBank. However, its branch network is much larger with 166 branch offices in PA (106), NY (28), IN (20), and OH (12).

4-Star Foresight Bank, Winnebago, IL (5749) was the result of the holding company’s consolidation of  its six community banks into one (JRN 42:43). The transaction is number 28 on page 5 (a little more than half-way down). Due to the nature of the transaction, the bank (formerly known as German American Bank) increased its assets by nearly 375% and its net worth by more than 440%. Its 14 branches are all located within the Prairie State.

Now for the countdown. The five largest bank M&A transactions completed in 2025 were:

On September 2nd, 5-Star Beacon Bank & Trust, Boston, MA (17798) formerly known as Brookline Bank, made its first acquisitions since 2020, when it acquired First Ipswich Bank. (Note the plural “acquisitions”.) Beacon acquired three banks in three different states in 2025.

They were:

Bank Rhode Island, Providence, RI with assets of $3.6 billion;

PCSB Bank, Yorktown Heights, NY, with $2.1 billion in assets; and

Berkshire Bank, Pittsfield, MA, with assets totaling $12 billion.

The result (in addition to the name change) was an increase in assets of 255% - from $6.2 billion to $22.8 billion.

5-Star Old National Bank, Evansville, IN (3832), was #7 in 2024 (JRN 42:02) after it acquired the $3.0 billion asset CapStar Bank, Nashville, TN. In 2025, Old NB acquired the even bigger ($16.4 billion asset) Bremer Bank, NA, Saint Paul, MN. Old NB now operates through over 360 branches in 10 states and boasts assets of $71 billion.

We have to go all the way back to January for this next one. That was when 5-Star SouthState Bank N.A., Winter Haven, FL (33555) acquired Independent Bank, McKinney, TX, with its $17.5 billion assets and 100+ branches offices (JRN 42:15). SouthState now boasts 371 offices, from Virginia in the Middle Atlantic, to the entire Southeast, Southwest to Texas and West as far as Colorado.

4-Star UMB Bank N.A., Kansas City, MO (8273) acquired the $17.2 billion assets HTLF Bank, Denver, CO in February (JRN 42:15). This combination increased UMB Bank’s assets more than 40% to $71.5 billion. UMB Bank has fewer branch offices than SouthState (211 total) but its footprint is larger, with offices in 14 states. While SouthState is marching North and West (from Florida), UMB Bank is traveling Due East.

The largest transaction, by far, was the May acquisition of Discover Bank by 4-Star Capital One N.A., McLean, VA (4297). This combination created the nation’s 8th largest bank holding company and 6th largest bank (with $652 billion in assets). Capital One now has more consumer loans on its books than any other U.S. Bank; 16% of the total.

The consolidation trend continues in full throttle.