Valley bolstering NY footprint with Westchester deal
Valley National Bancorp in New York is expanding to the north with an agreement to buy Westchester Bank Holding in White Plains, N.Y. The $41 billion-asset Valley said in a press release Tuesday that it will pay $210 million in cash and stock for the $1.3 billion-asset parent of Westchester Bank. Another $10 million in […]
Dime in New York to close five branches
Dime Community Bancshares in Hauppauge, N.Y., plans to close five New York branches. The $13 billion-asset company said in a press release Tuesday that it will close three branches in Brooklyn and one each in Southampton and Wading River. The closures will take place in October. “We regularly review our distribution channels and these combinations […]
Chemung to pay $350k penalty as part of consent order
Chemung Financial in Elmira, N.Y., disclosed that its bank had entered into a consent order with the New York State Department of Financial Services to address alleged violations of the state’s fair lending law and federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act. The order, signed last week, addressed issues the state regulator raised with Chemung Canal Trust’s […]
Community State in Indiana lines up next CEO
Community State Bank in Avilla, Ind., will soon have a new CEO. The $347 million-asset bank said in a press release Tuesday that Will Thatcher will also become its president on July 1. He will succeed Stuart Hood, who is retiring after leading the bank for the last 12 years. Thatcher previously served as president […]
FineMark in Fla. raises $83M through private placement
FineMark Holdings in Fort Myers, Fla., has raised $82.5 million from a private placement. The $2.9 billion-asset parent of FineMark National Bank & Trust said in a press release Monday that it lined up buyers for 2.5 million shares of common stock. Initial shares were sold on Friday to qualified institutional buyers and accredited investors, […]
Apollo in Miami creates mortgage division
Apollo Bank in Miami, which tried unsuccessfully to sell itself to a credit union, has formed a residential lending division. The $850 million-asset bank’s new mortgage operation will focus on high-net-worth individuals in Southern Florida, according to the South Florida Business Journal. The move creates a dedicated group to build on Apollo’s existing mortgage lending […]
Fentura in Mich. heading west with Farmers State deal
Fentura Financial in Fenton, Mich., has agreed to buy Farmers State Bank in Munith, Mich. The $1.3 billion-asset Fentura said in a press release last week that it will pay $15.5 million in cash for the $104 million-asset Farmers State. The deal, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter, priced Farmers State at […]
JPMorgan Chase to buy ESG-focused fintech
JPMorgan Chase has agreed to buy OpenInvest, a San Francisco fintech that helps financial professionals customize and report on values-based investments. OpenInvest will retain its brand and be integrated into J.P. Morgan’s Private Bank and Wealth Management client offerings. The $3.7 trillion-asset JPMorgan did not disclose the price it will pay. The deal is expected […]
Dime sells $585M of PPP loans to The Loan Source
Dime Community Bancshares in Hauppauge, N.Y., has sold a block of Paycheck Protection Program loans to The Loan Source. The $13 billion-asset company said in a press release Monday that it sold more than $585 million of 2021 PPP originations, adding that it expects to report a pretax gain of roughly $20.5 million in the […]
Amerant in Fla. invests $2.5 million in robo adviser
Amerant Bancorp in Coral Gables, Fla., has invested $2.5 million in a robo adviser. Marstone in New York said it raised $5 million in the latest phase of Series A financing. The company has now raised a total of $20 million, with the first close taking place in May 2020. The $7.8 billion-asset Amerant accounted […]
Exec at bank selling to credit union gives up ABA post
Rita Lowman, whose bank is being sold to a credit union, has resigned from the board of the American Bankers Association. Lowman is president of Pilot Bank in Tampa, Fla., which announced plans earlier this month to sell to Lake Michigan Credit Union in Grand Rapids, Mich. Her resignation was first reported by the Tampa […]
TS Banking to buy State Bank of Arcadia in Wisconsin
TS Banking Group in Treynor, Iowa, has agreed to buy State Bank of Arcadia in Wisconsin. The $1.5 billion-asset TS Banking said in a press release Wednesday that the $210 million-asset State Bank will be merged into its First National Bank and Trust. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter. TS Banking […]
AI-focused firm in Chicago applies to form a bank
A Chicago company that provides AI solutions for lenders is looking to form a digital-only bank. Organizers of the proposed Beta Bank submitted an application on Monday with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for deposit insurance. The bank would operate as a subsidiary of Beta Financial Services, according to the application. Beta Financial plans to apply with […]
Popular adds fintech consultant to its board
Popular in San Juan, Puerto Rico, has added a fintech expert to its board. The $67 billion-asset company said in a press release Friday that Betty DiVita had become a director. DeVita is chief business officer and a director at FinConecta, a technology firm focused on the digitalization of finance and open banking. She is […]
First Internet taps insider as next president
First Internet Bancorp in Fishers, Ind., will soon have a new president. The $4.2 billion-asset company said in a press release Thursday that Nicole Lorch will remain chief operating officer when she adds the new title on June 30. Lorch will succeed David Becker, who will remain chairman and CEO. She will also serve as president […]
Columbia Banking entering California with $266M deal
Columbia Banking System in Tacoma, Wash., will enter California with its pending purchase of Bank of Commerce Holdings in Sacramento. The $17.3 billion-asset Columbia said in a press release Wednesday that it will pay $265.6 million in stock for the $1.8 billion-asset parent of Merchants Bank of Commerce. The deal is expected to close in […]
Cross River in N.J. buys data analytics firm
The parent company of Cross River Bank in Fort Lee, N.J., has acquired a data and risk analytics firm. CRB Group said in a press release Wednesday that it bought Synthetic P2P Holdings, which operates as PeerIQ. The company helps fintechs and banks analyze, assess and manage risk in the lending sector. CRB, which did […]
Farmers National expanding in NE Ohio with latest deal
Farmers National Banc in Canfield, Ohio, has agreed to buy Cortland Bancorp in Cortland, Ohio. The $3.3 billion-asset Farmers National said in a press release Wednesday that it will pay $124 million in cash and stock for the $792 million-asset Cortland. The deal, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter, priced Cortland at […]
Fifth Third to acquire health care focused fintech
Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati has agreed to buy Provide, a digital platform for health care practices. The $207 billion-asset Fifth Third said the acquisition will add capabilities to address complex lending and banking needs for retail health care providers. Fifth Third did not disclose the price it will pay. “Over the last decade, Fifth […]
Nicolet to buy ag lender County Bancorp
Nicolet Bankshares in Green Bay, Wis., has agreed to buy County Bancorp in Manitowoc, Wis. The $4.5 billion-asset Nicolet said in a press release Tuesday that it will pay $219 million in cash and stock for the $1.5 billion-asset parent of Investors Community Bank. The deal, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter, […]
First Commonwealth forms equipment-finance business
First Commonwealth Financial in Indiana, Pa., has created an equipment finance division. The $9.4 billion-asset company said in a recent press release that it had hired Rob Boyer to serve as president of First Commonwealth Equipment Finance Group. Boyer recently served as a senior director at TCF Bank, according to his LinkedIn profile. He was […]
Middlefield Banc CEO to retire in 2022
Middlefield Banc Corp. in Middlefield, Ohio, is looking for a new leader. The company said in a press release Friday that Thomas Caldwell plans to retire as president and CEO in March 2022. Middlefield said it has begun looking at internal and external candidates to succeed Caldwell. Caldwell has been Middlefield’s president and CEO for […]
RCB in Oklahoma to buy family-owned bank
RCB Holding in Claremore, Okla., has agreed to buy Oklahoma State Bancshares in Vinita. The $3.7 billion-asset RCB said in a press release that it expects to buy the $306 million-asset parent company of Oklahoma State Bank and Lakeside Bank in the third quarter. RCB did not disclose the price it will pay. “What attracted […]
Columbia in N.J. lines up mutual merger with Freehold
Columbia Financial in Fair Lawn, N.J., has agreed to buy Freehold Bancorp in Freehold, N.J. The $9 billion-asset Columbia said in a press release Thursday that the $300 million-asset Freehold will convert to a federal savings bank and operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary. Freehold Bank will be merged into Columbia Bank two years after the […]
Cross River Bank forms VC division to invest in startups
Cross River Bank in Fort Lee, N.J., has formed a venture capital division to invest in fintechs and other startups. The $13.5 billion-asset company said that Cross River Digital Ventures will also evaluate companies involved with lending, payments and investing. The bank already serves as the regulated financial institution for several fintechs. “Cross River already […]