Strategic Insights into Banking & Fintech

Fintech Brex selects insider as first president

Brex, a San Francisco expense management platform, has promoted its chief product officer to serve as its first president. The fintech said in a press release that Karandeep Anand had taken on the new role. He joined Brex in January 2022 from Meta, where he lead the business products group. Anand was involved with the […]

BM Technologies transferring higher ed deposits to NC bank

BM Technologies in Radnor, Pa., is set to start transferring higher education customer deposits to First Carolina Bank in Rocky Mount, N.C.   The technology company said in a press release that it expects to complete the transferal of customer deposits by Dec. 1. First Carolina has said it expects to gain $525 million of […]

PlainsCapital Bank CEO to retire in May

Hilltop Holdings in Dallas is moving around several executives due to the pending retirement of its bank CEO.   The $16.4 billion-asset company said in a press release that Jerry Schaffner will also retire as president of PlainsCapital Bank on May 1. He has been in those roles since 2010.   Jeremy Ford, Hilltop’s president and […]

Investment fund boosts offer for big Carver Bancorp stake

Dream Chasers Capital, a New York-based minority-run investment fund, has raised its offer to buy a large stake in Carver Bancorp in New York. The investment group said in a press release that it wants to buy a 35% stake in the $743 million-asset Carver for $3.25 a share. That amount is 8% higher than […]

Pacific Premier in Calif. latest bank to unload securities

Pacific Premier Bancorp in Irvine, Calif., sold nearly $1.3 billion of securities at a loss. The $20 billion-asset company said in a press release that its sold the securities, largely consisting of lower-yielding agency and mortgage-backed debt securities, for an estimated $182.3 million after-tax loss. Pacific Premier said it plans to deploy the net proceeds […]

Organizers of proposed NJ de novo aim to raise $23 million

A group looking to form a bank in Jersey City, N.J., plans to raise at least $23 million of capital. Chroma Community Bank would be state-chartered, according to organizers’ application with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for deposit insurance. “The bank intends to offer a full range of business and retail banking services focused primarily […]

Citizens Bank of Edmond in Okla. receives MDI designation

Citizens Bank of Edmond in Oklahoma has been designated as a minority depository institution (MDI) by the Treasury Department. The announcement was made on LinkedIn by Jill Castilla, the $375 million-asset bank’s CEO. “This program further enhances deposit options [and] our long-term growth and relevancy,” she said in the post. Citizens’ biggest shareholder is its […]

OCC hits Vast Bank in Okla. with consent order

Vast Bank in Tulsa, Okla., an early pioneer in dealings with cryptocurrency, has entered into a consent order with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The $1 billion-asset bank must form a compliance committee with at least three independent directors and submit a three-year capital and strategic plan. Vast must also have a […]

Performance Trust buying small bank-focused Monroe Financial

Performance Trust Capital Partners has agreed to buy Monroe Financial Partners to bolster its services for community banks and depository investors. Monroe, which will continue to operate under its brand, is a market maker in more than 350 smaller banks. “Given the challenging operating environment for banks, we expect there will be opportunity for growth […]

Bank of New Hampshire exiting mortgage lending: reports

Bank of New Hampshire in Laconia has laid off 19 employees and ceased accepting applications for mortgages and other consumer loans. “This has been in the works since this year,” Chris Logan, the $2.5 billion-asset bank’s president and CEO, told WMUR.com. “That was done because over the past several years … the cost to originate […]

Blue Ridge in Va. to roll off certain BaaS relationships

Blue Ridge Bankshares in Charlottesville, Va., plans to roll off certain Banking-as-a-Service relationships in the next year. The $3.3 billion-asset Blue Ridge said in an investor presentation that its bank contracts with a number of “sub-partners” tied to its fintech partners. About a dozen of those sub-partner Banking-as-a-Service clients are in the process of moving […]

First Bancorp in NC selects insider to become bank president

First Bancorp in Southern Pines, N.C., has a new bank president. The $12 billion-asset First Bancorp said in a press release that Adam Currie had taken on the role, reporting to Mike Mayer, the bank’s CEO and the company’s president. Currie, who joined the company in 2015, has been the bank’s chief banking officer. The […]

Heartland in Denver repositions its balance sheet

Heartland Financial USA in Denver joined the list of banks selling underwater securities. The $20.1 billion-asset company said in a press release that it sold securities with $805.8 million in proceeds at a $129.1 million pretax loss. The proceeds were used to repay high-cost wholesale deposits and wholesale funding. Heartland said the sales were part […]

Live Oak in NC promotes insider to serve as president

Live Oak Bancshares in Wilmington, N.C., has a new president. The $11 billion-asset company said in a press release that BJ Losch had taken over the role, succeeding Neil Underwood. Losch will remain president of Live Oak Bank. Underwood is stepping down to focus on his role as general partner of Canapi Ventures, a strategic […]

Challenger bank HMBradley to shut down consumer ops

HMBradley is winding down its consumer deposit and credit card programs. The challenger bank will shut down those operations over the next 60 days, co-founder and CEO Zach Bruhnke wrote in a note on the company’s website. “Throughout 2023, it became evident that our consumer brand growth was falling short of our goals,” he added. […]

Capitol Federal in Kan. to report lower quarterly loss

Capitol Federal Financial in Topeka, Kan., will amend its quarterly results, reducing its previously reported loss, to correct its accounting treatment for certain securities sales. The $10.2 billion-asset company said that it should have recorded $13.3 million of securities losses in the current quarter. As a result, the company’s net loss for the previous quarter […]

Blue Ridge Bankshares in Va. exploring options to raise capital

Blue Ridge Bankshares in Charlottesville, Va., which is working under a written agreement with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, is “exploring options for raising capital.” The $3.3 billion-asset company disclosed in a regulatory filing that the OCC is requiring its bank to establish individual minimum capital ratios “that are higher than those […]

RBB in Calif. lowers 3Q earnings after finding ‘material weakness’

RBB Bancorp in Los Angeles lowered its third-quarter earnings after deferring income from a grant.   The $4.1 billion-asset company said in a press release that it determined that the $5 million it received from the Community Development Financial Institution Equitable Recovery Program should not count toward third-quarter noninterest income.   The decision will lower […]

Lakeland in Indiana combines chairman, CEO roles

Lakeland Financial in Warsaw, Ind., has combined the roles of chairman and CEO. The $6.4 billion-asset company said in a press release that CEO David Findlay had become its chairman. He succeeded Michael Kubacki, who had been chairman since 2003 but plans to retire in April. Blake Augsburger was named lead independent director. “I first […]

Park in Ohio to dip below $10B of assets with securities sales

Park National in Newark, Ohio, sold securities at a loss. The $10 billion-asset company disclosed in a regulatory filing that it sold $291 million in available-for-sale debt securities at a $7.9 million pretax loss. Specifically, Park sold $207 million of fixed-rate debt securities at a $6.6 million net loss, using proceeds primarily to reduce borrowings. […]

Liberty Bancorp. in Ill. buys North Adams State Bank

Liberty Bancorp. in Liberty, Ill., has acquired North Adams Bancshares in Ursa, Ill. The $128 million-asset Liberty bought the parent of the $47 million-asset North Adams State Bank on Nov. 10. The price wasn’t disclosed. “Our two banks have always been friendly competitors, and we have worked well together for decades, such as helping each […]

New legal battle arises between Va. bank, W.Va. governor

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, his family and related parties have filed a lawsuit against Carter Bankshares, alleging that the Martinsville, Va., company has violated federal banking regulations. The family, which has legally sparred with the $4.1 billion-asset Carter for years, alleged in the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District […]

Middlefield in Ohio sets stage for next leader

Middlefield Banc Corp. in Middlefield, Ohio, is preparing for its next CEO. The $1.8 billion-asset company said in a press release that Ronald Zimmerly Jr. will succeed James Heslop II on Dec. 31. Heslop, who is retiring, will also step down from the board. The board will be reduced to 12 directors. “Ron is a […]

First Citizens expands community pact to reflect SVB purchase

First Citizens BancShares in Raleigh, N.C., amended its community benefits plan, upholding some of the commitments Silicon Valley Bank had made prior to its March failure. The $214 billion-asset First Citizens bought the failed Silicon Valley Bank, which had outstanding commitments tied to its 2021 acquisition of Boston Private Bank. First Citizens’ expanded commitment with […]

ICBA Bancard rebrands as ICBA Payments

ICBA Bancard, the payments unit of the Independent Community Bankers of America, has rebranded. The ICBA said in a press release that it renamed the unit as ICBA Payments and created a new logo. TCM Bank, which supports the unit, also introduced a new logo that ties into ICBA Payments. “As we evolved from a […]