Editor's note: S&P Global Market Intelligence has reclassified industries according to the Global Industry Classification Standard. The league table data dispatch articles are now based on the new industry classification and are not comparable with 2017 and prior league table data dispatch articles.

Sandler O'Neill & Partners LP landed 15 bank and thrift M&A deal assignments in the third quarter and stayed on top of the 2018 financial adviser deal value and number-of-deal league tables through Sept. 30, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence's rankings.

Sandler O'Neill & Partners has worked on 48 M&A deals in the sector with a total announced deal value of $15.94 billion through three quarters. Keefe Bruyette & Woods Inc., which landed 11 depository M&A assignments in the third quarter, ranked second in deal value and number of deals through Sept. 30 with $7.84 billion in deal credit from 31 transactions.

Based on deal value, Sandler's largest assignment in the third quarter was serving as a financial adviser to Weston, Fla.-based FCB Financial Holdings Inc. in its $2.87 billion pending sale to Columbus, Ga.-based Synovus Financial Corp. announced in July.

Bank of America Corp. and Evercore Inc. also served as financial advisers on the FCB and Synovus deal, and they climbed to fourth and fifth, respectively, in the deal value league table through the first three quarters of 2018.

For KBW, a Stifel Financial Corp. unit, its largest third-quarter assignment was providing a fairness opinion to Dallas-based Veritex Holdings Inc. in its $1.00 billion pending acquisition of Houston-based Green Bancorp Inc. announced in July.

Among legal advisers, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP was the top legal adviser by deal value for bank and thrift M&A through the first three quarters of the year. It advised on four transactions worth $9.02 billion in total deal value.

Luse Gorman PC worked on more deals than any other M&A legal adviser as of Sept. 30 with 16 deals.