Pinnacle in Georgia to buy Morris State Bancshares
Pinnacle Financial in Elberton, Ga., has agreed to buy Morris State Bancshares in Dublin, Ga. The $2.2 billion-asset Pinnacle said in a press release that it will exchange 0.1095 shares of its stock for each share of the $1.5 million-asset Morris. The deal is expected to close by early in the second quarter. Morris’ shareholders […]
SR Bancorp in N.J. taps insider as next CEO
SR Bancorp in Bound Brook, N.J., will have a new CEO in 2026. The $1.1 billion-asset company said in a press release that Christopher Pribula will succeed William Taylor on Jan. 1. Pribula is SR Bancorp’s president and chief operating officer. Taylor, who is retiring, will remain on the board. Neil Viotto, the company’s senior […]
Bank of Marin in California to purge securities porfolio after sub debt raise
Bank of Marin Bancorp in Novato, Calif., decided to rip off the Band-Aid when it comes to its securities portfolio. The company, which restructured its securities book at least twice in the past two years, said in a press release that it reclassified its entire held-to-maturity portfolio as available-for-sale. The plan is to book a […]
Fintech Kaaj raises nearly $4 million in seed round
Kaaj, an AI-focused fintech that builds credit intelligence platforms for lenders, has more cash on hand. Shivi Sharma, the company’s co-founder and president, announced in a LinkedIn post that it completed a $3.8 million seed round led by Kindred Ventures with participation from Better Tomorrow Ventures, Karman Ventures, Pythia Ventures, Coughdrop Capital, and angel investors. […]
CBS Banc-Corp. in Alabama to buy TAG Bancshares in Georgia
CBS Banc-Corp. in Russellville, Ala., has agreed to buy TAG Bancshares in Trenton, Ga. CBS, the parent of the $2.8 billion-asset CB&S Bank, will pay a cash consideration for the holding company of the $129 million-asset Citizens Bank & Trust, according to an announcement by Olsen Palmer, which advised the seller. The deal is expected […]
Organizers plan digitally-focused VALT Bank in Idaho
A group of U.S. Bancorp veterans is seeking approval to form a fully digital de novo bank. Organizers applied to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Nov. 17 to form VALT Bank in Eagle, Idaho. The goal is to create a digital business banking platform that includes loans, deposits, cash management and advisory services. Founders […]
Community First Credit Union to buy First Southern in Georgia
Community First Credit Union in Jacksonville, Fla., has agreed to buy First Southern Bank in Waycross, Ga. The $2.9 billion-asset credit union said in a press release that it reached a deal with FSBH Corp. to buy substantially all of the assets and assume most of the liabilities of the $400 million-asset First Southern. FSBH […]
BancFirst strikes deal to buy American Bank of Oklahoma
BancFirst in Oklahoma City has agreed to buy American Bank of Oklahoma in Collinsville. The $14 billion-asset BancFirst said in a press release that it expects to buy the $385 million-asset American Bank in the third quarter. The price wasn’t disclosed. “Collinsville and Skiatook are thriving communities that continue to experience dynamic growth in northeastern Oklahoma,” David Harlow, BancFirst’s CEO, said […]
Fintech Ramp raises $300 million in latest funding round
Fintech Ramp raised $300 million in the latest funding round. Eric Glyman, the SaaS company’s co-founder and CEO, disclosed the effort in a LinkedIn post. Bloomberg reported that the round was led by Lightspeed. “We’re growing 10x faster than the median publicly traded SaaS company,” Glyman said in his post. “Revenue, customers, and feature velocity […]
GECU in Texas to buy Bank of the Southwest in New Mexico
GECU in El Paso, Texas, has agreed to buy Bank of the Southwest in Roswell, N.M. New Mexico National Financial plans to sell the $187 million-asset bank, including 12 branches and “substantially” all of its liabilities, to the $4.4 billion-asset credit union, according to an announcement by Olsen Palmer, which advised the bank. The price […]
Blue Ridge in Virginia freed from OCC consent order
Blue Ridge Bankshares in Charlottesville, Va., has been freed from a January 2024 consent order with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The company made several big decisions since it was hit with the order, making Billy Beale as its CEO, raising capital, and exiting its Banking-as-a-Service vertical. “Months ago, we turned our […]
Olympic revisited Heritage offer after unnamed bank sought price cut
Olympic Bancorp in Port Orchard, Wash., returned to the negotiating table with Heritage Financial in Olympia, Wash., after a rival bidder moved to cut its offer, giving new life to a deal that was ultimately priced at $176.6 million. The $7.1 billion-asset Heritage agreed in September to buy the $1.7 billion-asset parent of Kitsap Bank […]
First United in Md. to promote COO as its next CEO
First United in Oakland, Md., will begin 2026 with a new CEO. The $2 billion-asset company said in a press release that Jason Rush will also become president on Jan. 1. Rush, the company’s chief operating officer, will succeed Carissa Rodeheaver, who is retiring Rodeheaver will remain executive chairman until the company’s May 7 annual […]
Jewel Box Financial to buy American Bank of Beaver Dam in Wisconsin
Jewel Box Financial Services in Columbus, Wis., has agreed to buy Ambanc Financial Services in Beaver Dam, Wis. Jewel Box, the parent of the $661 million-asset Farmers & Merchants Union Bank, expects to buy the holding company for the $202 million-asset American Bank of Beaver Dam in the first quarter, according to an announcement by […]
Activist investor launches new effort to push Blue Foundry’s sale
Activist investor Lawrence Seidman continues to pressure Blue Foundry Bancorp, this time pressing the Rutherford, N.J., company to replace its management team or find a buyer. Seidman, who says he owns about 0.8% of the $2.1 billion-asset company’s stock, sent a letter to the board making his demands. Blue Foundry has lost money in each […]
Rosedale in Md. buys deposits, certain assets from Eastern Savings Bank
Rosedale Bank in Baltimore has acquired the deposits and certain liabilities from Eastern Savings Bank in Hunt Valley, Md. The $1.3 billion-asset Rosedale also bought deposit account overdrafts, overdraft lines of credit, and certain other assets that belonged to Eastern Savings, according to an announcement by Olsen Palmer, which advised Rosedale. The pricing wasn’t disclosed. […]
Richmond Mutual to buy Farmers Bancorp in Indiana
Richmond Mutual Bancorp. in Richmond, Ind., has agreed to buy Farmers Bancorp in Frankfort, Ind. The $1.5 billion-asset Richmond Mutual said in a press release that it will pay $82 million in stock for the $1.1 billion-asset Farmers. The deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter, priced Farmers at 100% of its […]
Rhineland Bancshares to buy BancStar in Missouri
Rhineland Bancshares in Rhineland, Mo., has agreed to buy BancStar in Pacific, Mo. The $801 million-asset Rhineland expects to complete its purchase of the $191 million-asset BancStar in the first quarter, according to an announcement by Olsen & Palmer, which advised the seller. The price wasn’t disclosed. BancStar has three branches.
Cornerstone Capital in Alabama forms mortgage joint venture
Cornerstone Capital Bank in Auburn, Ala., has formed a mortgage partnership with a homebuilder. The bank said in a press release that Ironcrest Mortgage, the venture with Stone Martin Builders, will leverage its lending expertise with the builder’s custom homebuilding experience. “We’re excited to merge Cornerstone’s proven national lending platform with Stone Martin’s deep roots […]
Mutual Bancorp to absorb Bluestone Bank in Massachasetts
Mutual Bancorp in Hyannis, Mass., and Bluestone Bank in Raynham, Mass., are merging. Mutual Bancorp, the $7 billion-asset parent of Cape Cod 5 and Fidelity Bank, said in a press release that it expects to complete the merger with the $1.6 billion-asset Bluestone in the third quarter of 2026. Mutual Bancorp will become the largest mutual […]
Huntington in Ohio expanding capital markets ops with Janney businesses
Huntington Bancshares in Columbus, Ohio, continues its buying spree, agreeing to buy several business units of Janney Montgomery Scott. Huntington will buy Janney’s merger-and-acquisition advisory, public finance, and fixed-income sales and trading units. The businesses will be integrated into Huntington units, including Capstone Partners, its investment banking advisory arm, and Huntington Securities, which focuses on […]
Bank Midwest in Iowa promotes insider as its president
Bank Midwest in Spirit Lake, Iowa, has a new president. The $1 billion-asset bank said in a press release that Luke Donnenwerth will remain chief banking officer. “Luke brings a strategic mindset complemented by sound wisdom and practical common sense,” Mary Kay Bates, the bank’s CEO, said in the release. “His leadership style — defined […]
First Financial in Indiana to buy CedarStone in Tennessee
First Financial in Terre Haute, Ind., has agreed to buy CedarStone Financial in Lebanon, Tenn. The $5.7 billion-asset First Financial said in a press release that it will pay $25 million in cash for the $358 million-asset CedarStone. The deal, which is expected to close in the first quarter, priced CedarStone at 108% of its […]
Midland States in Illinois announces bank president’s planned retirement
Midland States Bancorp in Effingham, Ill., said its bank president will retire next year. The $6.9 billion-asset company said in a press release that Jeffrey Mefford will retire from as its executive vice president on June 30. Jeremy Jameson was named chief banking officer of Midland States Bank. Jameson is the bank’s chief credit officer. […]
Palmetto Citizens FCU buying four Ga. branches from Southern Financial
Palmetto Citizens Federal Credit Union in Columbia, S.C., has agreed to buy four Georgia branches from Southern Financial in Waynesboro, Ga. The $1.4 billion-asset Palmetto Citizens will also obtain $83 million in deposits and $20 million in loans. The deal is expected to close in the first half of next year. Southern Financial estimated that the transaction […]