A nationwide uptick in mergers and acquisitions in the banking industry is having a visible effect on the Springfield market – with banks changing names and new players coming to town.
According to national reports, merger and acquisitions activity rebounded in the U.S. banking market in 2025 after a slowdown in the previous two years, with activity expected to continue throughout 2026.
That national trend is lining up with activity in Illinois, according to David Boulay, president and CEO of the Springfield-based Illinois Bankers Association. The Illinois banking market is one of the largest in the nation, with the highest number of state-chartered banks in the U.S. and the second highest number of chartered banks overall, making Illinois an attractive market for bank mergers and acquisitions.
“We are a target state for this because of our size,” Boulay said.
However, Boulay pointed out that even with the increase in M&A activity, the number of banks and bank branches available to local consumers has remained steady. In Sangamon County, the total number of bank branches is about 75, a number that has stayed relatively flat since 2022. The number of bank charters in the county also has remained constant at 24.
“The number of charters, the number of branches is holding steady, although there might be a change in the nameplate outside the building,” Boulay said.
One local example of this is Indiana-based First Financial Corp.’s recent acquisition of Decatur-based First Illinois Corp. in a $111 million deal. First Illinois is the holding company for Hickory Point Bank and Trust, which operates a Springfield Branch at 3131 W. Wabash Ave. The Hickory Point bank name will change to First Financial when the deal closes, which is expected in the fourth quarter, according to Jeff Raes, executive vice president and Springfield market manager for Hickory Point.
The deal was announced in August. Raes told the Springfield Business Journal at that time that the merger with First Financial was a good cultural fit for Hickory Point and would provide the bank with economies of scale to invest in things such as technology, cyber security and regulatory compliance.
Those kinds of economies of scale are a main driver of M&A activity in the banking industry overall, Boulay said. He said increased scale to invest in technology to keep up with “anything from cybersecurity to AI to the cost of compliance” along with possible support for leadership succession planning are two main factors that drive the activity.
“A merger is a way to gain scale to help deal with that complexity of operating a bank,” Boulay said.
Gaining this scale is a factor in merger activity nationwide, according to a 2026 report from Deloitte providing an outlook on M&A in the banking and capital markets. According to the report, “the accelerating pace of technological change across digital banking, payments, data, and compliance has increased the strategic value of scale.”
The number of banking M&A transactions nationally has increased from 96 in 2023 to 127 in 2024 to 181 in 2025, according to the report, representing a nearly 89% increase.
In addition to the First Financial/Hickory Point deal, other mergers and acquisitions that have impacted the Springfield banking market include Land of Lincoln Credit Union’s acquisition of Williamsville State Bank and Trust in a deal that closed in September.
LLCU previously operated a Springfield location at 300 S. Grand Ave. With the acquisition, that branch closed and operations relocated to the former Williamsville State Bank location at 3341 Old Jacksonville Road. Williamsville also had a Sherman location that has become an LLCU branch.
A bank merger that is bringing a new branch to the Springfield market is Longview Capital Corp.’s acquisition of Middletown State Bank. That deal closed last year.
Middletown State Bank had ties to the local market, with Springfield real estate developer Bob Barker previously serving as president of the bank. Longview Community Bank, which is part of the Longview Capital Corp. bank holding company, is now building a branch in Springfield to be closer to its local customers.
The branch, to be built at 3741 Wabash Ave., will be Longview Community Bank’s eighth location.
Boulay said the merger activity in the market could ultimately benefit the banking consumer.
“What’s important to me is: Do we see choice in the community as a consumer?” Boulay said. “Based on the number of branches and number of charters, there is plenty of choice. Form a consumer standpoint, there is not anything that would be a negative. If there is a bank that is merging, it might bring innovation. It might bring new solutions to customers or efficiencies that will help the bank better serve the community.”
This article appears in November SBJ 2026.