United Bankshares had a big year — strong Q4 earnings, an announcement to merge with Tysons-based Cardinal Bank and another (record-setting) round of dividend increases.

United Bank's earnings of $39.1M for Q4 2016 were a 16.7% increase from Q4 2015’s $33.5M. Similarly, earnings for the full year 2016 were $147.1M, up nearly 6.6% from 2015’s $138M.

United's shareholders also saw dividends increase to $1.32 per share, representing the 43rd consecutive year of dividend increases, furthering a record only one other major banking company in the U.S. has been able to achieve.

Additionally, United’s return on average assets in 2016 was 1.1%, 22% higher than the Federal Reserve peer group’s (bank holding companies with total assets over $10B) most recently reported ROAA of 0.9%.

Last year, United bolstered its position as the community bank of the nation's capital, completing the acquisition of Bank of Georgetown and announcing an agreement to merge with Cardinal Financial Corp. The latter, a $912M deal that is the 10th in United’s recent DC metro area buying spree, should be finalized by mid-2017.

It will be the largest acquisition in the bank's history and will bring the bank’s assets to approximately $20B.

"This merger aligns perfectly with our long-standing commitment to growth in the DC Metro area," United CEO and chairman Richard Adams said in a release. Based on the projected market cap, United stands to become the 32nd-largest banking company in the country.

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