Banking on a big deal

You know what they say—if you can’t beat the big banks, join ‘em.

At least that’s what Fifth Third Bancorp and Comerica are planning to do. The two regional banks, based in Cincinnati and Dallas, respectively, are teaming up to create the ninth-largest bank in the US with a combined $288 billion in assets.

The deets: Fifth Third is buying Comerica for $10.9 billion in an all-stock deal. Under the new proposed structure, Fifth Third shareholders will have a 73% stake in the new bank, while Comerica shareholders will own 27%. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026.

Shares of Comerica jumped 13.66% today, while Fifth Third declined 1.4%.

The deal is a boon for Comerica, which was under serious pressure from activist investor HoldCo Investment Management, according to the Wall Street Journal. HoldCo was planning to mount a boardroom fight if Comerica didn’t sell itself soon.

Comerica’s focus on commercial banking combined with Fifth Third’s retail business should allow the newly merged company to better compete in the big leagues with banks like JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Citibank.

Small banks have big problems

The regional banking industry has been treading water since the wave of bank failures back in 2023 that kicked off with Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse, which undermined customer confidence and pushed people to bigger banks. Since then, smaller banks have also struggled to keep up with tech and costs, according to the WSJ.

That’s why this likely won’t be the last banking tie-up we see this year. Analysts predict that regional banks will see major consolidation amid the more lenient M&A regulatory environment of the Trump administration.—LB