Ten US bank deals were announced in February, equaling January's tally, and pushing the year-to-date deal value to $939.3 million.

By comparison, 15 bank deals were announced over the first two months of 2023 for a combined $342.5 million, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. The slow start to bank M&A in 2024 comes after 2023 was a historically low year for deal announcements.

Banks targeted in South Carolina, Georgia

On Feb. 1, Raleigh, NC-based Dogwood State Bank announced it would acquire Seneca, SC-based Community First Bancorp. for $57.9 million, making it the fourth-largest US bank M&A deal announced so far in 2024 and the 19th largest since the beginning of 2023.

The last time a South Carolina-based bank was targeted was when Seneca, SC-based Oconee Federal Financial Corp., the majority-owned subsidiary of Oconee Federal MHC, announced the acquisition of Hartsville, SC-based Mutual Savings Bank in July 2023. The deal was subsequently completed in February 2024.

On Feb. 28, Anniston, Ala.-based Southern States Bancshares Inc., the holding company of Southern States Bank, announced the acquisition of Cartersville, Ga.-based CBB Bancorp for $26.9 million with a deal value-to-tangible common equity ratio of 128.4%. The deal was the third-most expensive US bank deal announced this year and the 15th-most expensive since the start of 2023.

Upon completion, Southern States Bank will have approximately $2.8 billion in assets as it strengthens its presence in the Peach State.

The last time a Georgia-based bank was targeted was when Dothan, Ala.-based Five Star CU announced the acquisition of Abbeville, Ga.-based Wilcox County State Bank on Aug. 31, 2023. Also in August 2023, Five Star announced an acquisition of Macon, Ga.-based OneSouth Bank.

Bank deals by region, state

The Midwest's nine bank targets make it the most-targeted region so far this year by a wide margin.

Among the six Midwest banks targeted in February, two were headquartered in Missouri, tying it with Illinois and Washington as the most-targeted states this year.

– Access the S&P Capital IQ Pro M&A summary page for US financial institutions. – Access a list of pending and completed M&A deals announced since Jan. 1, 2014. – Read more M&A news.

US bank M&A could be impacted by recent proposals

Recent regulatory proposals may impact the industry's broader M&A appetite, but opinions vary on the effects. A proposal from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency that aims to improve the transparency of its bank M&A review process, has some industry observers worried that serial acquirers or would-be merger-of-equal participants could face greater scrutiny and even longer closing timelines.

On the other hand, recently proposed corporate governance guidelines by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which include increased responsibilities for directors, could force smaller banks into M&A to better spread the cost of attaining these experts or they could opt to switch state charters to national bank charters to avoid the new regulation altogether, according to industry analysts.