Arrow Financial in N.Y. buying insurance agency in its backyard
Arrow Financial in Glens Falls, N.Y., has agreed to buy Skene Valley Agency. Arrow said in a press release that it expects to buy the Glens Falls insurance agency by the end of this month. The price wasn’t disclosed. “This strategic growth opportunity will allow us to deepen [our] presence in Washington County, where we […]
Bank7 in Oklahoma inches closer to buying New Mexico bank
Bank7 Corp. in Oklahoma City has emerged as the winning bidder in a court-supervised auction for roughly 71% of Century Financial Services in New Mexico. Bank7 disclosed in a regulatory filing that it agreed to raise its purchase price from $68 million to nearly $89 million. The roughly 237,000 shares became available for sale after […]
North Dakota Bankers Association CEO to retire in mid-2027
The North Dakota Bankers Association is looking for its next leader. The association said in a press release that Rick Clayburgh will retire as president and CEO in mid-2027. “The announcement provides time for a thoughtful leadership transition while celebrating a career marked not only by influential advocacy and industry leadership, but by a lasting […]
Mercury gets conditional FDIC approval to open its planned bank
Mercury is one step closer to opening a bank. The fintech received conditional approval for deposit insurance from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The FDIC is requiring the bank to have $300 million in initial capital. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency gave conditional approval in April. “Deposit insurance approval isn’t a formality,” […]
Organizers set to open Nola Bank in New Orleans
Nola Bank is set to open in New Orleans next week. The de novo will debut on Sept. 14, co-founder Chris Shah wrote in a LinkedIn post. “Opening a new community bank is no small undertaking,” Shah wrote. “This milestone represents years of vision, determination, collaboration, and an unwavering belief in the communities we will […]
Trustmark in Miss. uses sale-leaseback deal to offset securities loss
Trustmark in Jackson, Miss., is using proceeds from a sale-leaseback transaction to offset a hit from selling underperforming securities. The company disclosed in a regulatory filing that it sold 34 branches in Mississippi, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama and Texas to Blue Owl for $91.7 million, or a $61.5 million pretax gain. Trustmark then signed 15-year leases for […]
Proposed Texas de novo sets sights on NIL market
A 40-year-old mortgage company is looking to become a bank built specifically to serve college and professional athletes. Data Mortgage, which operates as Essex Mortgage, applied to the Texas Department of Banking and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to convert to a Texas state-chartered bank called Bank Elevated. The Aug. 28 application would let the […]
Chime to buy sponsor partner Stride Bank in $590M cash deal
Chime has agreed to buy Stride Bank, which has served as its sponsor bank for the past seven years. The San Francisco fintech said in a press release that it will pay $590 million for the Enid, Okla., bank, which will be rebranded as Chime Bank. Chime noted that buying Stride will eliminate partner-bank fees, […]
United Community in S.C. shedding securities after Navitas sale
United Community Banks in Greenville, S.C., is using gains from selling its equipment finance business to purge its securities portfolio. The $28.2 billion-asset company said during a call with analysts that it is selling $2.6 billion of low-yielding securities at a roughly $300 million pretax loss. Proceeds are being redeployed into higher-yielding, shorter-duration securities. The […]
Activists push United Bancorp. of Alabama for board seats
Two investment firms are escalating a push for change at United Bancorp. of Alabama in Atmore by formally requesting board seats after months of what they describe as unproductive engagement. Merion Road Capital Management and Blue Hill Advisors sent a letter to the board on Sept. 8 requesting the appointment of Aaron Sallen and Jason […]
Huntington in Ohio taps insider as its president
Huntington Bancshares in Columbus, Ohio, is moving ahead with succession planning. The $284 billion-asset company said in a press release that Brant Standridge had become its president. Steve Steinour remains chairman and CEO. Standridge was president of consumer and business banking. Steinour noted in the release that he plans to remain the company’s leader “for […]
QNB in Pennsylvania sells securities, unwinds pay-fixed swaps
QNB Corp. in Quakertown, Pa., restructured its securities portfolio. The company said in a press release that it sold $254.4 million of low-yielding securities and unwound $162 million of pay-fixed swaps, resulting in a net pretax loss of $26.2 million. The securities sold represented about 46.8% of QNB’s entire portfolio. Net proceeds will be used […]
John Marshall to buy Eagle Financial in Virginia bank combination
John Marshall Bancorp in Reston, Va., has agreed to buy Eagle Financial Services in Berryville, Va. The $2.4 billion-asset John Marshall said in a press release that it will pay $253 million in stock for the $1.8 billion-asset parent of the Bank of Clarke. The deal, which is expected to close in the first quarter, […]
Brazil’s Stark Bank sheds light on proposed U.S. bank’s plans
Brazilian neobank Stark Bank has applied for a U.S. national bank charter, adding another name to the growing list of fintechs seeking their own U.S. bank licenses this year. The application seeks approval to organize Stark Bank as an insured national bank based in the Miami area, with a back-office administrative location near Orlando. Neither […]
Baker Boyer in Washington lines up its new leader
Baker Boyer in Walla Walla, Wash., has completed its four-year CEO succession plan. The bank said in a press release that Kip Kontos had become its president and CEO. Kontos, who was director of regional offices and secretary, succeeded Mark Kajita, who retired and stepped down from the board. “Baker Boyer’s strength has always come […]
MidCountry Bank in Minnesota selects outsider as next CEO
MidCountry Bank in Bloomington, Minn., has a new leader. The $1.1 billion-asset bank said in a press release that Jim Loe had become its president and CEO. Loe, who previously served as the president and CEO of Community Resource Bank, succeeded Steve Meads, who is retiring at the end of this year. “Jim is an […]
Group looks to create de novo Texas Partners Bank
A group is planning to form a bank in Texas. Organizers of Texas Partners Bank applied to open the proposed bank in Frisco, Stan Pinkham wrote in a LinkedIn post. Pinkham would serve as the proposed bank’s CEO. “I’m truly blessed that God has given me this opportunity and want to thank the organizers and […]
Fed ends enforcement action against United Texas Bank
The Federal Reserve Board terminated a two-year-old enforcement action against United Texas Bank in Dallas. The original cease-and-desist order, issued in September 2024, stemmed from a May 2023 exam that found “significant deficiencies” in the $1.1 billion-asset bank’s risk management tied to foreign correspondent banking and virtual currency customers. The C&D also cited concerns tied […]
OCC gives conditional approval to planned OpenReserve Bank
OpenReserve Bank has received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a national bank charter. The proposed bank, which submitted its applications in April and recently raised $25 million in a seed round led by a16z, would operate out of Salt Lake City and offer lending, deposit, stablecoin, digital treasury, […]
Simmons in Ark. closing 26 branches under broad efficiency push
Simmons First National in Pine Bluff, Ark., is closing 26 branches in five states. The company disclosed in a regulatory filing that it will close the locations by Dec. 3. The closures will impact about 100 employees; about 70% will be retained. Simmons is closing six branches in Arkansas, Tennessee, and Texas. Another five will […]
Revolut receives conditional OCC approval for national bank charter
U.K. neobank Revolut has received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a U.S. national bank charter. Revolut said in a press release that it is working through remaining applications and approvals with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Federal Reserve. The goal is to open the bank next […]
Georgia Skyline organizers scrap de novo plan to buy Virginia bank
Organizers of the proposed Georgia Skyline Bank in Roswell have shifted gears and will instead buy and recapitalize Highlands Community Bank in Covington, Va. The group, which received conditional approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in December, now plan to buy the $190 million-asset Highlands. The plan is to still use the charter to […]
Digital money network Cari raises $32.5M in bank-driven funding round
Cari, a bank-governed digital money network founded by Gene Ludwig, has raised $32.5 million in the first tranche of its initial external funding round. The investments came entirely from banks, including design partners First Horizon Bank, Huntington Bank, KeyBank, M&T Bank, Old National Bank, and SouthState Bank. Glacier Bank also participated. Cari began working with […]
STAR Financial in Iowa launching digital banking unit Denova
STAR Financial Group in Fort Wayne, Ind., is planning to launch a digital banking unit to support small businesses and entrepreneurs. The parent of the $3 billion-asset STAR Bank said that the planned Denova would offer digital checking and savings accounts, bill pay, wire transfers, and concierge-style support through embedded chat and business specialists. The […]
Parkside Financial expanding in Colorado with First American deal
Parkside Financial in St. Louis, Mo., has agreed to buy First American Bancorp in Greenwood Village, Colo. The $1.1 billion-asset Parkside said in a press release that it expects to buy the $277 million-asset First American in a cash-and-stock transaction expected to close in the fourth quarter. The price wasn’t disclosed. “First American has built […]