Newtek Business Services in Boca Raton, Fla., has received approval from the Federal Reserve to become a bank holding company.
Newtek, which lends to small and midsize companies, would obtain a charter from its pending purchase of National Bank of New York City, which still needs approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
Newtek said in a press release that it expects OCC approval “in the coming weeks.”
The Fed’s approval requires Newtek to divest certain activities of its technology portfolio companies within two years of becoming a bank holding company.
“While we await and anticipate approval from the OCC to acquire NBNYC, which we are hopeful to obtain shortly, we will continue to prepare and anticipate closing the acquisition in January 2023,” Barry Sloane, Newtek’s chairman, president and CEO, said in the release.
“Once we receive the remaining regulatory approval, we anticipate providing certain guidance on forecasted earnings as a bank holding company,” Sloane added.