The article is dedicated to the changes in the banking sector due to sales and aggregation of the small and medium-sized banks. This paper describes the processes of consolidation and aggregation of the banking sector in Russia, it analyses the dynamics of the M&A deals and identifies the main trends in this market segment for 2017–2018. Based on the overview of the Russian M&A market (M&A means mergers and acquisitions) in the banking sector for the past years a conclusion is drawn about the aims and rationale of the modern processes of mergers and acquisitions in the Russian banking business.