Dear Reader,
Today is Wednesday, January 7th and today I want to do a follow-up on something Dylan spoke about back in October:
Bank takeovers.
In the Diary, Dylan mentioned how a unique, 12-month takeover window was opening in the banking sector.
Conditions have changed so banks are being left with 2 options:
Acquire or get acquired.
Now look at what we've seen in just a few short months since publishing that note.
Since mid-October, we've had a steady drumbeat of regional and community bank deals.
Here's just a few of the many deals that happened in these past short months.
Huntington Bancshares agreed to acquire Cadence Bank in a roughly $7.4 billion all-stock deal…
Fulton Financial moved to buy Blue Foundry Bancorp in a transaction valued at about $240 million.
Associated Banc-Corp announced it would acquire American National Bankshares for roughly $604 million…
That's a lot of activity in a short amount of time.
And it's exactly what happens when the environment shifts in a way that makes M&A rational again.
Because bank takeovers aren't random.
They come in waves.
And waves happen when a few big forces line up at the same time.
First, the cost of capital starts to stop being a brick wall. Banks can actually model deals again without everything getting destroyed by funding costs.
Second, the regulatory posture and political tone changes — you don't need to feel like you're walking into a gauntlet every time you try to do a merger.
Third, competitive pressure ramps up. If you're running a mid-sized regional bank, you eventually look in the mirror and you realize:
If we don't get bigger and more efficient… we're going to be the one that gets picked off.
This is why banking has always been one of the best hunting grounds for takeovers.
Once you know what signals to watch, the targets usually aren't hard to spot.
That was the point of the framework we laid out in October.
You start by looking at where deposits are growing, then zero in on the banks in those regions that are underperforming.
Keep in mind.
Even after all the deal activity we've seen since October, I don't think this wave is "done."
I think it's just getting warmed up.
Because once you start seeing deals land — and once boards see that deals can get done — more banks start leaning in.
Nobody wants to be the last one standing.
Nobody wants to be the small player trying to compete on technology… compliance costs… and branch footprint while everyone else around them bulks up.
That's why these windows can be so profitable.
You just need to be early to a consolidation cycle… and buy the right kinds of targets before the premiums show up.
Now I don't expect you to do this all on your own.
That's why Dylan designed a whole system that does all the work for you.
It identifies the top takeover opportunities on the market… and delivers a pick every week right into your inbox.
He's working on a major bank takeover watchlist right now, so if you want to be there when it releases… make sure to get on the list right now.
So now that we see the banking takeover boom has started..
The question becomes: what happens next?
Well, if the last few months were anything to go by …
There is still a lot of money to be made in 2026.
If you want it all done for you, go get on our takeover targets list here.
And if you missed it, don't forget to check out Dylan's original video below.
See you tomorrow,
Simmy Adelman, Editor-in-Chief
Behind the Markets
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