First Fidelity in Oklahoma launches BaaS platform
First Fidelity Bank in Oklahoma City has started offering a Banking-as-a-Service product. The $2.7 billion-asset First Fidelity said in a press release that it developed the BaaS product with Episode Six, a payments infrastructure provider in Austin, Texas. Unifimoney, a digital wealth management platform for community banks and credit unions, is First Fidelity’s first BaaS […]
CFPB: BNPL users more likely to show signs of financial distress
Buy Now, Pay Later borrowers are more likely to show signs of financial distress compared to non-users, according to a new report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The CFPB said in the report that BNPL users are more likely to also be active users of other credit products such as credit cards, personal loans […]
Wintrust latest bank to cut consumer overdraft fees
Add another regional bank to the list of financial institutions doing away with overdraft fees for consumer accounts. Wintrust Financial in Rosemont, Ill., said in a press release that it also eliminated item return fees. Business accounts will remain under the existing overdraft and item return fee structure. “Given the number of ways to engage […]
Avidia hires Rockland Trust exec as next CEO
Avidia Bank in Hudson, Mass., will soon have a new president and CEO. The $2.5 billion-asset bank said in a press release that it had hired Rob Cozzone, chief operating officer from Rockland Trust, to succeed Mark O’Connell when he retires in May. “Avidia’s genuine commitment to the community and its tradition of […]
Silvergate in Calif. warns about capital levels
Silvergate Capital in La Jolla, Calif., warned that recent securities sales will negatively affect its regulatory capital levels and could lead to the company and its bank becoming “less than well-capitalized.” The $11.4 billion-asset Silvergate said in a filing seeking more time to file its annual report that it sold securities at a loss in […]
U.S. Bancorp invests in tokenized assets startup
U.S. Bancorp in Minneapolis has invested in Ownera, a fintech that works with tokenized assets. Ownera said in a press release that the $675 billion-asset U.S. Bancorp participated in the fintech’s Series A investment round. The amount of the investment wasn’t disclosed. Ownera is working to digitize paper-heavy and illiquid private markets for banks, asset […]
MVB in W.Va. sells fintech advisory group
MVB Financial in Fairmont, W.Va., has sold an advisory practice it bought three years earlier. The $3.1 billion-asset company said in a press release that it sold Chartwell Compliance to Ankura Consulting Group. The price wasn’t disclosed. Chartwell, founded in 2011, provides regulatory compliance, state licensing, financial crimes prevention and enterprise risk management services to […]
Luther Burbank’s balance sheet turned off buyers, filing says
Washington Federal in Seattle saw an opportunity with a bank that a number of other banks had no interest in buying. The $21.7 billion-asset Washington Federal agreed in November to buy Luther Burbank in Santa Rosa, Calif., for $654 million – a deal that valued the $8 billion-asset seller at just 97% of its tangible […]
Thread Bank in Tenn. hires exec to handle fintechs
Thread Bancorp in Brentwood, Tenn., has hired a banker from Live Oak Bank to oversee its fintech relationships. The $417 million-asset company said in a press release that it recruited Andrew Montgomery to become its director of fintech partnerships. He is responsible for identifying and building partnerships with fintech companies and enhancing the bank’s suite […]
TD, First Horizon likely to push back deal closing again
TD Bank in Toronto and First Horizon in Memphis, Tenn., are skeptical that they can complete their merger by the May 27 deadline – meaning another extension is likely. The $79 billion-asset First Horizon disclosed in a regulatory filing that TD Bank recently sent notice that it doesn’t expect to secure regulatory approvals in time. […]
WaFd spinoff raises $15M in Series A funding
Archway, a platform that was spun off from Washington Federal in Seattle, has raised $15 million of Series A funding. The platform, which helps banks modernize and personalize digital customer interactions by connecting their core banking products to web, mobile, voice and AI technologies, said in a press release that the funding round was led […]
Park National to pay $9M to settle redlining claims
Park National in Newark, Ohio, has agreed to pay $9 million to settle redlining claims. The Justice Department said in a press release that the $9.8 billion-asset company decided to resolve allegations that it engaged in “a pattern or practice of lending discrimination” around Columbus, Ohio. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for […]
S&T in Penn. latest bank to eliminate NSF fees
S&T Bancorp in Indiana, Pa., will eliminate all nonsufficient funds (NSF) fees for consumer and business deposit accounts. The $9.1 billion-asset company said in a press release that its returned-item fees will go away on April 3. S&T will introduce a new program where it will not charge an overdraft fee if account is overdrawn […]
Investor group plans to buy Utah bank, seek MDI status
An investor group led by one of Martin Luther King’s children and a former Trump Administration official has agreed to buy Holladay Bank and Trust in Salt Lake City. Redemption Holding Co. said in a press release that it plans to seek approval to become a bank holding company. It also plans to turn the […]
U.S. Bancorp facing ‘potential enforcement action’ from CFPB
U.S. Bancorp said the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is considering “a potential enforcement action” tied to the Minneapolis company’s handling of prepaid cards for unemployment benefits. The $593 billion-asset company’s disclosure comes months after it said the CFPB was investigating the matter. U.S. Bancorp reiterated in its annual filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission […]
Apex Bank in Tenn. to move corporate headquarters
Apex Bank in Camden, Tenn., plans to move its corporate headquarters to West Knoxville. The $1.1 billion-asset bank has a contract to buy the former Discovery campus from Warner Bros., according to multiple media reports. The price of the transaction, which is expected to close on March 31, wasn’t disclosed. In addition to its corporate […]
Black-owned bank in Houston lands $50M investment
Unity National Bank of Houston has received a $50 million investment from Baker Hughes, an energy technology company. Baker Hughes said in a press release that the investment in the $215 million-asset Black-owned bank came in the form of a $50 million deposit in J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s Empower share class. “We have a responsibility […]
Fintech executives propose buying Illinois bank
Two executives at Metallicus, a San Francisco fintech, has applied to form a bank holding company and buy State Bank of Nauvoo in Illinois. The company, which develops product on the blockchain, said in a press release that it created FBBT Holdings to expand banking and financial services to underserved clients in emerging technology industries. […]
Three more banks settle Stanford-related litigation
TD Bank in Toronto; Independent Bank Group in McKinney, Texas; and HSBC Holdings are the latest banks to settle longstanding litigation tied to Stanford Financial Group. TD Bank agreed to pay $1.2 billion to settle claims it aided in the $7 billion Ponzi scheme. Independent, which inherited exposure from a past acquisition, will pay $100 […]
Synergy to enter new market via acquisition
Synergy Bancshares in Houma, La., has agreed to buy Peoples Bancshares of Pointe Coupee Parish in New Roads, La. The $763 million-asset Synergy said in a press release that it expects to complete the purchase of the parent of the $337 million-asset Peoples Bank in the third quarter. The price wasn’t disclosed. Synergy will enter […]
HarborOne outgrows Mass. deposit-insurance fund
HarborOne Bancorp in Brockton, Mass., has changed its bank’s charter after getting too big to use a benefit of being a state-chartered savings bank. The $5.4 billion-asset company disclosed in a regulatory filing that HarborOne Bank switched to a state-chartered trust company and ended its membership in the Depositors Insurance Fund. The DIF insures deposit […]
CUES begins search for next CEO
The Credit Union Executives Society (CUES) in Madison, Wis., has hired a search firm to help it find a successor for John Pembroke, who died in November. CUES hired DDJ Myers to help it find a new president and CEO, according to the Credit Union Times. Pembroke “created a solid foundation and trajectory for the […]
Fed again rejects Custodia request for supervision
The Federal Reserve Board has rejected a request by Custodia Bank to reconsider last month’s decision to deny the Cheyenne, Wyo., company’s application to be supervised by the Fed. The Fed rejected Custodia’s application after concluding that it was “inconsistent with the required factors under the law.” The regulator determined that the business model and […]
Citizens Trust to hold USDC reserves for Circle
Citizens Trust Bank in Atlanta will hold about $65 million of USD Coin (USDC) cash reserves for Circle Internet Financial in Boston. Circle, a digital fintech firm that issues USDC, said the agreement is part of a broader effort to allocate a share of USDC dollar-denominated reserves to minority depository institutions (MDIs) and community banks. “For […]
Regulators warn about crypto-related liquidity risk
Federal bank regulators are warning banks to be diligent about potential runs associated with crypto-related deposits. The Federal Reserve, Federal Deposits Insurance Corporation and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, in a joint statement, pressed banks to keep an eye on certain crypto-related deposits. They pointed specifically to deposits banks hold for crypto firms’ clients […]