Strategic Insights into Banking & Fintech

National Capital in DC to have new bank CEO

National Capital Bancorp in Washington, D.C., will soon have a new bank CEO. National Capital said in a press release that Jimmy Olevson will succeed Randy Anderson at the $676 million-asset National Capital Bank of Washington on Jan. 1. Olevson will remain the bank’s president. Anderson will remain president and CEO of the company and […]

BMO Financial agrees to $40 billion community plan

BMO Financial Group has reached a five-year, $40 billion agreement with community groups to facilitate its pending purchase of Bank of the West in San Francisco. BMO Financial agreed to increase lending to lower-income and minority homeowners and increase small-business lending in underserved communities. The company also set aside $325 million for special-purpose credit programs. […]

Safra New York to buy Delta North Bankcorp

Safra New York Corp. has agreed to buy Delta North Bankcorp in New York. Safra, the parent of the $9.5 billion-asset Safra National Bank of New York, did not disclose the price it will pay for the holding company of the $493 million-asset Delta National Bank and Trust. Delta, which has offices in New York and Miami, provides […]

Bank of Princeton applies to buy Noah Bank in Pa.

The Bank of Princeton in New Jersey has filed its application to acquire Noah Bank in Elkins Park, Pa. The $1.6 billion-asset Bank of Princeton applied with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Nov. 23 to buy the $275 million-asset Noah. Bank of Prince agreed to buy Noah in late October in an all-cash deal […]

Citizens in Ky. factored DTAs into timing of its sale

Citizens Commerce Bancshares in Versailles, Ky., waited to reap as much benefit as possible from deferred-tax assets before agreeing to sell to City Holding in Charleston, W.Va. The $6 billion-asset City agreed in October to buy the $354 million-asset Citizens for $61 million. Citizens, which was recapitalized in 2017, had “significant” DTAs – which allow […]

Block.one buys big stake in Silvergate Capital

EOS developer block.one and its CEO have built a nearly 9.3% stake in Silvergate Capital in La Jolla, Calif. Block.one, in a regulatory filing, disclosed a roughly 7.5% stake in the $15.5 billion-asset Silvergate after buying about 2.3 million shares. Brendan Blumer, in a separate filing, disclosed that he bought another 571,000 shares. “We believe […]

1st Source consolidates bank president, CEO roles

Several executive changes are planned at 1st Source in South Bend, Ind. The $8.1 billion-asset company said in a press release that Andrea Short will become CEO of its bank on Dec. 1. Short, who will remain the bank’s president, will succeed Christopher Murphy III, who will remain the company’s chairman, president and CEO and […]

FDIC frees Unity Bank in N.J. from consent order

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has terminated a consent order against the bank unit of Unity Bancorp in Clinton, N.J. The $2.3 billion-asset United disclosed in a regulatory filing that the July 2020 order was terminated on Tuesday. The order, which followed a 2019 safety and soundness examination, required the bank to strengthen its Bank […]

UMB buys Old National’s HSA business

UMB Financial in Kansas City, Mo., has acquired the health savings account business of Old National Bancorp in Evansville, Ind. The $46.2 billion-asset Old National disclosed in a regulatory filing that about $382 million of HSA-related deposits were transferred to the $37.6 billion-asset UMB. UMB paid a roughly $92 million premium to Old National. When […]

HBT in Illinois taps insider as next bank president

HBT Financial in Bloomington, Ill., will soon have a new bank president.   The $4.2 billion-asset HBT said in a press release that Patrick Busch will step down as president of Heartland Bank and as the company’s chief lending officer, effective Dec. 31. He will remain at the company as vice chairman.   J. Lance […]

How Lakeland juggled DoJ and M&A negotiations

Lakeland Bancorp in Oak Ridge, N.J., finalized an acquisition and negotiated the settlement of redlining claims by the Justice Department while discussing its pending merger with Provident Financial Services in Iselin, N.J. The $13.6 billion-asset Provident agreed in late September to buy the $10.5 billion-asset Lakeland for $1.3 billion. Lakeland juggled early stage talks with […]

PacWest officially names Paul Taylor as its next CEO

PacWest Bancorp in Los Angeles followed through on its plan to name Paul Taylor as its next CEO. The $41 billion-asset company said in a press release Monday that Taylor, its president, will succeed Matthew Wagner as CEO on Jan. 1. PacWest said when it hired Taylor as president that it was “anticipated” that he […]

First Foundation’s interim president leaves

First Foundation has shuffled its management ranks for the second time in less than a month. The $12.3 billion-asset company said in a press release that Scott Kavanaugh, its CEO, had taken on the role. He succeeded Kevin Thompson, who stepped down as chief financial officer and interim president. Amy Djou, First Foundation’s chief accounting […]

BM Technologies pushes back closing timeline for bank deal

BM Technologies in Radnor, Pa., no longer expects to complete its pending purchase of First Sound Bank in 2022. The fintech, which intends to rebrand the $154 million-asset First Sound as BMTX Bank, said in a press release that it will resubmit its merger application to “respond to questions posed by regulators.” The plan is […]

Kennebec Savings planning first branch in Portland, Maine

Kennebec Savings Bank in Augusta, Maine, is planning to open its first branch in Portland, Maine. The $1.5 billion-asset bank recently bought a location in the city, according to B98.5 FM. The branch is expected to open in the first quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank, which opened in 1870, has seven branches. The bank merged with […]

M&T forms institutional real estate group

M&T Bank in Buffalo, N.Y., has formed a new group to focus on lending the real estate investment trusts and investment real estate fund clients. The $204 billion-asset company said in a press release that Sam Bluso will run the newly formed business as its head of institutional real estate. Bluso previously served as head of […]

Fed approves Newtek’s BHC application

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 […]

Legacy Bank in Mo. to buy multifamily lender

Legacy Bank & Trust in Mountain Grove, Mo., has agreed to buy Crain Mortgage in Dallas. Brett Magers, president of the $1 billion-asset Legacy, said in a LinkedIn post that Crain is an FHA multifamily accelerated processing lending. Crain will be rebranded as Legacy Capital. The deal is expected to close by the end of […]

Cecil in Maryland freed from 2010 written agreement

The Federal Reserve has terminated a 12-year-old written agreement against Cecil Bancorp in Elkton, Md. The $242.5 million-asset Cecil had been operating under the agreement since June 2010. Among other things, it instructed the company to submit a written plan to improve oversight, hire a consultant to conduct a corporate governance review and strengthen its […]

LGBTQ+ neobank Daylight raises $15M in funding round

Daylight, a challenger bank focused on the LGBTQ+ community, plans to offer a family planning subscription service after raising $15 million in new capital. Daylight said in a press release that the funding was led by Anthemis Group. Vinay Singh, managing director at Anthemis Group, will join Daylight’s board. “Family creation is a major life […]

First Community in Va. to buy Surrey Bancorp in N.C.

First Community Bankshares in Bluefield, Va., has agreed to buy Surrey Bancorp in Mount Airy, N.C. The $3.6 billion-asset First Community said in a press release that it will pay $113.2 million in stock for the $500 million-asset Surrey. The deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter, priced Surrey at 194% of its […]

Visa taps insider as its next CEO

Visa will soon have a new CEO. The company said in a press release that Ryan McInerney, its president, will succeed Alfred Kelly on Feb. 1. Kelly, who has been CEO since 2016, will remain chairman. “I cannot think of a finer leader to continue to position Visa at the center of money movement in increasingly innovative ways,” […]

Commerce in Mo. to buy municipal bond underwriter

Commerce Bancshares in Kansas City, Mo., has agreed to buy municipal bond underwriter and adviser L.J. Hart & Co. The $32.6 billion-asset Commerce didn’t disclose the price it paid for the St. Louis, Mo., company. L.J. Hart has advised more than 300 Missouri public school districts and nearly a quarter of the 114 Missouri county […]

Ergo Bank in Wis. to buy Farmers & Merchants

Ergo Bank in Markesan, Wis., has agreed to buy Farmers & Merchants Bank of Kendall in Wisconsin. The $138 million-asset Ergo submitted its application to buy the $79 million-asset Farmers & Merchants on Wednesday. Farmers & Merchants, formed in 1913, has three branches, $60 million of loans and $64.8 million of deposits. The application wasn’t […]

First United in Maryland acquires mortgage lender

First United in Oakland, Md., has acquired First Mortgage Services in Cumberland, Md. The $1.8 billion-asset First United said in a press release that First Mortgage has originated nearly $900 million of consumer mortgages since 1997. The price wasn’t disclosed. The acquisition “will enhance our ability to assist our customers and market areas,” Carissa Rodeheaver, […]