In a landscape often defined by protracted regulatory reviews, the recent lightning-fast approval of Huntington Bank’s acquisition of Cadence has sent a clear signal to the industry. To unpack the implications of this deal and what it tells us about the current M&A environment, we sat down with Priya Jaiswal, a leading authority on banking and finance. Our conversation explores the drivers behind this rapid regulatory green light, the immense strategic and operational challenges of integrating such a large entity, and how this transaction contrasts sharply with the M&A climate of the recent past.
The OCC approved the Huntington-Cadence deal in just 56 days, significantly faster than other recent large deals. Based on your experience, what specific factors in the merger proposal and the current regulatory climate likely contributed to such a rapid green light from the OCC?
Seeing an approval in just 56 days is truly remarkable, even within an administration that has made a point of accelerating these reviews. It speaks volumes about both the deal’s structure and the current regulatory philosophy. When you compare it to the 94 days it took for PNC’s deal or the 124 days for the Pinnacle and Synovus merger, you realize this isn’t just a trend; it’s an acceleration. My assessment is that Huntington presented an exceptionally clean proposal to the OCC. They likely anticipated every potential regulatory sticking point, from market overlap to community reinvestment, and had compelling data and commitments ready. This proactiveness, combined with a regulatory posture that prioritizes efficiency, allowed the OCC to process the application without the lengthy back-and-forth that can bog down these multibillion-dollar transactions.
This acquisition gives Huntington a top-five deposit market share in Dallas and Houston. Can you walk us through the strategic steps a bank like Huntington must take to integrate Cadence’s million new customers and 390 branches to capitalize on this new Texas footprint?
This is where the real work begins, and it’s a delicate, high-stakes process. The first 100 days are critical. Huntington’s immediate priority must be customer retention and communication. You have one million new customers who chose Cadence for a reason, and you can’t afford to lose them during the transition. This means a carefully orchestrated campaign of welcome packets, clear explanations of account changes, and reassurances about keeping their local bankers. Operationally, the systems conversion planned for the second quarter is the main event. Merging banking platforms is a monumental task that, if fumbled, can cause chaos. Finally, there’s the human element across those 390 new branches. You must integrate the Cadence staff, align them with Huntington’s culture and products, and empower them to be ambassadors for the new, combined bank. Successfully navigating these steps is the only way to transform that new fifth-place market share in Dallas and Houston from a statistic into a profitable reality.
The article contrasts this quick approval with the 16-plus months it took for the Columbia-Umpqua merger under a different administration. Could you elaborate on the key procedural differences in the regulatory review process that account for such a dramatic difference in timelines for these multibillion-dollar deals?
The difference is night and day, and it really comes down to a fundamental shift in regulatory philosophy and process. The 16-month ordeal for the Columbia-Umpqua deal was characteristic of a more cautious, scrutinizing approach. That process involved deeper, more prolonged examinations of potential impacts on community services, competition, and consumer welfare, often leading to multiple rounds of public hearings and requests for additional information that stretched timelines indefinitely. In stark contrast, the 56-day approval for Huntington suggests a much more streamlined review focused primarily on financial stability and direct competitive overlap. The current process appears to place more trust in the banks’ initial applications, assuming they’ve done their due diligence. This shift from a deeply investigative model to a more efficient, compliance-focused one is the core reason we’re seeing these multibillion-dollar deals move from announcement to approval in under two months instead of over a year and a half.
With Huntington set to become a $276 billion-asset bank, what are the primary operational and cultural challenges it faces in merging two distinct organizations? Please describe, step-by-step, how a successful systems conversion, like the one planned for Q2, is typically managed in a merger of this scale.
Merging two banks to create a $276 billion powerhouse is a massive undertaking, and the biggest challenges are always technology and people. Operationally, the systems conversion is the moment of highest risk. A successful conversion is planned with military precision. The process begins months in advance with data mapping, where you meticulously plan how every piece of customer information from Cadence’s system will fit into Huntington’s. This is followed by rounds of rigorous testing in a sandboxed environment to iron out bugs. The actual conversion is usually done over a long weekend to minimize disruption. It’s an ‘all-hands-on-deck’ effort with IT teams working around the clock. Culturally, you’re blending two distinct workforces. Huntington must invest heavily in training and communication to ensure the staff from the 390 acquired branches feel valued and understand the new product suite and corporate vision. Ignoring the cultural side is a common mistake that can lead to employee turnover and a disjointed customer experience, undermining the entire strategic rationale for the deal.
What is your forecast for the bank merger and acquisition landscape in 2026?
I believe the Huntington-Cadence approval is a starting gun for 2026. This 56-day turnaround will be seen as a strong green light by bank boards across the country that may have been hesitant to pursue deals due to the regulatory uncertainty of previous years. The predictability and speed of the current process dramatically lower the risk and cost associated with M&A. I anticipate a significant uptick in deal announcements, particularly among regional banks looking to gain scale and expand their geographic footprint. With major deals like Fifth Third’s $10.9 billion acquisition of Comerica still in the pipeline, another swift approval there would only add fuel to the fire. In short, 2026 is shaping up to be one of the most active years for bank M&A that we’ve seen in a long time, driven almost entirely by this more favorable and efficient regulatory climate.
