Nine U.S. bank M&A deals were announced in September, pushing total announcements in the third quarter to 40, up from 35 in the second quarter.

Though the nine bank deal announcements lagged behind the 14 announcements in August, aggregate deal value jumped to $1.50 billion for the month of September, the second-highest monthly tally in 2022 after February's $14.08 billion, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.

* Access a list of pending and completed M&A deals announced since Jan. 1, 2012. * Access the S&P Capital IQ Pro M&A summary page for U.S. financial institutions. * Read more M&A news.

Provident-Lakeland deal

The bulk of September's aggregate deal value came from Jersey City, N.J.-based Provident Financial Services Inc.'s $1.28 billion acquisition of Oak Ridge, N.J.-based Lakeland Bancorp Inc., which was announced Sept. 27. The deal was the 12th-largest U.S. bank deal announced since 2021 and the second-largest deal announced this year.

Over the first nine months of 2022, the median deal value-to-tangible common equity ratio for announced deals was 154.3%, higher than 2020's 135.3% and 2021's 152.3% but just below 2019's 155.6%.

Activity hot on the East Coast

Among 24 $100-million-plus deals announced year-to-date through September, 10 targets were located in the Southeast, while the mid-Atlantic and Midwest had five deals each.

2022 deals among the most expensive

Twelve of the 20 most expensive deals announced since 2021 were announced this year. In September, Taiwan-based Taichung Commercial Bank Co. Ltd. announced its acquisition of City of Industry, Calif.-based American Continental Bancorp for 189.9% of tangible common equity.

Bank M&A activity expected to remain muted

Bank M&A activity has drastically slowed this year with only 123 deal announcements, compared to 160 deals announced over the first nine months of 2021. With bank M&A deal terminations picking up and regional bank executives showing declining interest in M&A due to regulatory uncertainty and longer closing timelines, bank M&A activity is likely to remain subdued through the end of the year.