Regional Financial Services Mergers & Acquisitions Updates – Q3 2024

Bank mergers and acquisitions have steadily increased through the third quarter of 2024, although a range of issues have continued to cool the bank M&A market. Continued unrealized losses on securities portfolios, while shrinking due to the passage of time and rising interest rates, have combined with an uncertain economic outlook and an uncertain economic outlook and a presidential election to keep transactions below historic levels. However, if the market obtains some clarity around these challenges, many sellers who have stayed on the sidelines will likely consider a transaction. This could lead to an uptick in dealmaking in the fourth quarter of 2024 and into 2025.These challenges started early in 2023 with the unexpected liquidity crisis that led to multiple large bank failures, which then transitioned to concerns over the U.S. economy as the Federal Reserve continued to battle inflation by increasing interest rates. While still a developing situation, the geopolitical uncertainty in Israel and the Middle East likely adds additional ambiguity to the direction of the U.S. economy in the months to come and could present further challenges to banks looking to purse transactions.

In Depth

• Bank Closures