Former Marcus head to oversee retail banking at Santander U.S.
Santander U.S. has hired the former head of Marcus. The bank said in a press release that Swati Bhatia, as head of retail banking and transformation, will oversee consumer and business banking, along with digital transformation efforts. Bhatia succeeded Pierre Habis, who joined Synchrony Financial last year. Santander “has reached an inflection point as we progress […]
Houston group taps new CEO for proposed de novo bank
The organizers for a proposed Houston bank have added more directors, hired a new CEO, and again reapplied for deposit insurance. The group first applied with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in February 2022 to form Houston Bank of Commerce & Trust, reapplying in May 2023. The latest application has shortened the proposed de novo’s […]
Ally Financial snags top Discover exec as its new CEO
Ally Financial in Charlotte, N.C., has hired Michael Rhodes as its new CEO. Ally said in a press release that Rhodes will start on April 29. He will also join Ally’s board. Rhodes recently served as CEO of Discover Financial Services, which is being acquired by Capital One Financial. He will replace Jeffrey Brown, who […]
Gouverneur Bancorp in N.Y. selects outsider as next leader
Gouverneur Bancorp in Gouverneur, N.Y., has a new CEO. The $204.9 million-asset company said in a press release that Robert Barlow was also named president of the company. He succeeded Charles Van Vleet Jr., who will remain president and CEO of GS&L Municipal Bank and assist with the executive transition. Barlow was vice […]
Capital Bancorp in Md. to buy government-guaranteed lender IFH
Integrated Financial Holdings, a government-guaranteed lender in Raleigh, N.C., has found a new buyer. The $548 million-asset parent of West Town Bank & Trust, which had a proposed sale to MVB Financial called off in May 2023, agreed to sell itself to Capital Bancorp in Rockville, Md. The $2.2 billion-asset Capital agreed to pay $66 […]
BNA Bank in Mississippi promotes insider as next CEO
BNA Bank in New Albany, Miss., has a new CEO. The $770 million-asset bank said that Mike Staten had succeeded Bo Collins, who retired. Staten has been the bank’s president since 2020. Collins had been CEO since 2013. Bob Spencer, the bank’s chief financial officer, will also serve as president. He will oversee the bank’s […]
LCNB in Ohio hires investment bank to explore sale
LCNB Corp. has hired an investment bank to “begin evaluation” of the Lebanon, Ohio, company’s potential sale. The $2.3 billion-asset company, which is in the process of buying another bank, disclosed in a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission that it hired Hovde Group in December to help it weigh its options. The disclosure […]
First National in Virginia agrees to buy Touchstone Bankshares
First National in Strasburg, Va., has agreed to buy Touchstone Bankshares in Prince George, Va. The $1.4 billion-asset First National said in a press release that it will pay $47 million in stock for the $658.7 million-asset Touchstone. The deal, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter, priced Touchstone at 106% of its […]
BOK Financial to offset securities loss with Visa stock sales
BOK Financial in Tulsa, Okla., plans to offset losses tied to a recent securities sale with proceeds from converting its Visa shares. The $48.2 billion-asset company disclosed in a regulatory filing that it sold about $783 million of debt securities at a $45 million pretax loss. It reinvested the proceeds into higher-yielding securities. The company […]
Group applies to open new commercial bank in SoCal
Organizers are planning a de novo bank in Culver City, Calif. A group filed an application earlier this year with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for Culver Community Bank. The Bank Slate recently obtained the redacted version of the application. Benjamin Donel is listed as the proposed bank’s chairman. He is the managing member of […]
Organizers propose Korean-American bank in Los Angeles
A group of Korean-Americans is looking to form a new bank in Los Angeles. Organizers of QIB Bank applied on March 8 with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The group is looking to raise $35 million to form a minority-depository institution. “The bank intends to operate as a full-service commercial bank providing a wide range […]
SaviBank in Washington to sell to Harborstone Credit Union
Savi Financial in Mount Vernon, Wash., which once explored forming a second bank, will instead sell its bank to Harborstone Credit Union in Lakewood, Wash. The $1.9 billion-asset Harborstone will pay an $16 to $17 a share in cash for the $593 million-asset SaviBank. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter. Savi […]
Proposed Houston de novo secures conditional FDIC approval
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has given conditional approval for a new bank in Houston. Organizers of the proposed Integrity Bank must raise $37 million prior to opening, according to the FDIC’s order. Integrity plans to operate as a state-chartered savings bank. The group of 19 organizers originally applied with the FDIC in June 2023. […]
Former OneWest director joins New York Community board
New York Community in Hicksville has appointed a director with experience serving on a bank board. The $114.1 billion-asset company disclosed in a regulatory filing that Alan Frank will also stand for election at this year’s annual meeting. He will serve as chairman of the audit committee. Frank, who spent 40 years at Deloitte & […]
Crypto custody firm Bakkt taps director as next CEO
Bakkt Holdings in Alpharetta, Ga., selected one of its directors to become its next CEO. The crypto custody firm said in a press release that Andy Main will also become president on March 26. He will succeed Gavin Michael, who will step down to pursue other opportunities. Michael will serve in an advisory role through […]
Air Force FCU to rebrand as Soarian Credit Union
Air Force Federal Credit Union in San Antonio will rebrand as Soarian Credit Union on April 2. The $663 million-asset credit union said in a press release that the new name combines “soar” and “orion.” “After an extensive strategic process, and research that uncovered name confusion in our markets, our board … chose to rebrand […]
Two fintechs to pay big penalties to address claims tied to PPP
A pair of fintech agreed to pay a total of $59 million to settle claims by the Federal Trade Commission that they misled small businesses pursuing funds from the Paycheck Protection Program. Biz2Credit will pay $33 million to resolve allegations its overpromised on PPP turnaround times. While the company claimed it could process applications, on […]
LINKBANCORP closing 3 branches, convert Md. LPO into branch
LINKBANCORP in Camp Hill, Pa., is closing three branches. The $2.7 billion-asset company said in a press release that it will close locations in the Pennsylvania markets of Trevorton and Minersville, along with a branch in Ocean City, Md. The closures are expected to take place in the second quarter. Separately, the […]
nCino strikes deal to buy DocFox
nCino in Wilmington, N.C., has agreed to buy DocFox, which automates onboarding experiences for commercial and business banking. The deal is expected to close by the end of this month. The price wasn’t disclosed. The acquisition should allow nCino to offer clients a single platform for information intake, document collection and due diligence. The acquisition […]
United Prairie in Minn. hires director as next CEO
United Prairie Bank in Mountain Lake, Minn., has a new CEO. Scott Miller announced on his LinkedIn account that he had also become the $879.2 million-asset bank’s president. Miller, who was already on the bank’s board, previously served as a partner at Debt Advisors Network.
New York Community sells $899M of consumer loans
New York Community Bancorp in Hicksville just sold $899 million of consumer loans and shed more light on its recently disclosed material weakness. The $114.1 billion-asset company said in its annual report that it recently sold the consumer loans and a commercial co-op loan. The pricing wasn’t disclosed. The filing shared more insight into the […]
Three La. mutuals eye conversions to stock-owned companies
Three New Orleans area mutual banks are planning to convert to stock-owned companies. The $1.1 billion-asset Fidelity Bank and the $481 million-asset Fifth District Savings Bank have already disclosed their plans in regulatory filings, while Mutual Savings and Loan in Metairie, La., announced its planned conversion in a press release. Fidelity created FB Bancorp for […]
Activist investor to vie for board seat at Peoples Financial in Miss.
A prominent activist investor is looking to win a board seat at Peoples Financial in Biloxi, Miss. Stilwell Associates disclosed in a regulatory filing that it plans to nominate Stewart Peck to stand for election at the $798 million-asset Peoples’ April 24 annual meeting. Peck is senior counsel at Lugenbuhl, Wheaton, Peck, Rankin […]
Blank-check company formed to buy failed banks
A group has formed a blank-check company in hopes of buying failed banks. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in December granted conditional approval for Porticoes National Bank with an understanding that the group will apply for Federal Reserve membership and obtain deposit insurance. Final approval “will not be granted unless all pre-opening […]
Spring Bank in Wisconsin selects insider as next CEO
Spring Bank in Brookfield, Wis., has a new CEO. The $365 million-asset bank said that Heather Nelson succeeded founding CEO David Schuelke. Spring Bank was formed in 2008. Nelson, who had been the bank’s president since January 2023, also joined the board.