Bank M&A 2025 Deal Tracker: 11 deals announced in January

Dealmaking in the US banking sector remained subdued in the first month of 2025, bucking expectations for a sharp rebound in M&A activity.

Eleven deals, worth a combined $678.4 million, were announced during the month, compared to 12 bank deals for a combined $566.7 million in January 2024, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.

Glacier Bancorp's 15th bank purchase since 2013

Kalispell, Montana-based Glacier Bancorp Inc. on Jan. 13 announced the acquisition of Idaho Falls, Idaho-based Bank of Idaho Holding Co. for $245.4 million. The transaction had a deal value-to-tangible common equity ratio of 190.4%. The purchase marks the 16th-largest and the third-most expensive US bank M&A deal since the beginning of 2024.

The deal also was Glacier Bancorp's 15th bank acquisition since 2013 and its second-largest bank buy since it acquired American Fork, Utah-based Altabancorp for $934.8 million in 2021.

California banks targeted

Two banks headquartered in California were also targeted in January.

On Jan. 22, Oceanside, California-based Frontwave CU announced that it would acquire all the assets and liabilities of El Centro, California-based Community Valley Bank for $56.4 million. The transaction marks the first credit union-bank deal of 2025, after an active year of dealmaking in 2024.

Meanwhile, Reno, Nevada-based Plumas Bancorp announced the acquisition of Red Bluff, California-based Cornerstone Community Bancorp on Jan. 29 for $61.7 million. The combined company would have roughly $2.3 billion in assets and a branch footprint throughout northern California and western Nevada.

Other deals announced in January

Clearfield, Pennsylvania-based CNB Financial Corp.'s $209.3 million acquisition of Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania-based ESSA Bancorp Inc., announced Jan. 10, was the the 20th-largest US bank M&A deal announced since the beginning of 2024.

Tupelo, Mississippi-based Cadence Bank's $105.8 million purchase of Savannah, Georgia-based FCB Financial Corp., announced Jan. 22, had a deal value-to-tangible common equity ratio of 192.5%, making it the second-most expensive US bank M&A deal since the start of 2024.

– Access a list of pending and completed M&A deals announced since Jan. 1, 2015. – Access the S&P Capital IQ Pro M&A summary page for US financial institutions. – Read more M&A news.

US bank executives during this earnings season have outlined a positive M&A outlook for 2025, expecting that regulators in the Trump administration will ease capital rules and deal approvals.

According to S&P Global Market Intelligence's fourth-quarter 2024 US Bank Outlook Survey, an increased proportion of bankers — 41.6% versus 33.3% in the third-quarter survey — said their institution was either "somewhat" or "very" likely to pursue acquiring another company over the next 12 months. Meanwhile, the proportion of bankers who thought their institution was likely to sell decreased to 10.9% from 12.6%.