While there was a temporary stall in bank merger activity in early 2025 because of the economic fallout of tariffs and other Trump administration policies, overall quarterly deal announcements have held steady, according to a new analysis by PWC.
The accounting firm found that U.S. bank industry merger activity continued to grow through the end of 2024 and early 2025. It also found that fintech and payments companies showed increased deal activity, “and we continue to see financial institutions looking for buyers as they move to divest non-core business assets and redeploy capital to core areas.”
“Strategic bank mergers and acquisitions are regaining traction,” PWC said. “Institutions that prepare in advance, make decisive moves and execute with rigorous discipline — particularly in integration — are the ones most likely to generate significant shareholder value and achieve long-term competitiveness in a swiftly consolidating market.”
PWC added that while the new administration is taking some of the deregulatory posture that dealmakers anticipated, it is taking an active approach in other areas, such as antitrust. “Though not a direct driver of deal activity, recent actions taken by bank regulatory bodies will remove hurdles that may have dampened deal-making in recent years,” it said.
