Strategic Insights into Banking & Fintech

FirstSun in Colorado sells multifamily portfolio

FirstSun in Colorado sells multifamily portfolio

FirstSun Capital Bancorp in Denver sold a portfolio of multifamily loans it inherited from its purchase of First Foundation. FirstSun said in a press release that it sold loans with a total contractual balance of $890 million to entities affiliated with Brookfield Asset Management. The pricing wasn't disclosed. “Successfully completing the sale of this performing multifamily commercial real estate loan pool is a significant milestone in our balance sheet repositioning

June 6, 2026
New buyer emerges for troubled Summit National in Wyoming

New buyer emerges for troubled Summit National in Wyoming

A new buyer has emerged for Summit National Bank in Hulett, Wyo., after other sales efforts failed to close. Mode Eleven, the bank’s bankrupt holding company, recently received an offer from Kraken co-founder Arjun Sethi to buy the bank for $5.5 million, according to bankruptcy court documents. The offer includes a $750,000 nonrefundable deposit that can be used to provide an immediate capital infusion to Summit. The proposed sale marks

June 5, 2026
Execs at Security Bank in Minn. buy stake in Citizens Community in Wis.

Execs at Security Bank in Minn. buy stake in Citizens Community in Wis.

A group of investors tied to Security Bank & Trust Co. in Glencoe, Minn., has acquired a 6.3% stake in Citizens Community Bancorp in Eau Claire, Wis. The group, in a regulatory filing, said it was open to discussing strategy, governance, board composition, or a potential transaction with the $1.8 billion-asset Citizens Community. Gale Hoese, Security Bank’s CEO, reported owning 450,000 shares, or nearly three-quarters of the investor group’s aggregate

June 5, 2026
Group with Amerant ties planning new bank in Southern Florida

Group with Amerant ties planning new bank in Southern Florida

A group with ties to Amerant Bank is planning a new bank in Southern Florida. Organizers of the proposed Glades Bank & Trust applied to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on June 2. Th bank would be based in Plantation, Fla., The filing was immediately available. Howard Levine, former chief consumer banking officer at Amerant, and executives from venture capital firm Exuma Capital are linked to the effort. The plan

June 5, 2026
Security Federal in S.C. lines up successors for retiring CEO, CFO

Security Federal in S.C. lines up successors for retiring CEO, CFO

Security Federal in Aiken, S.C., made some key C-Suite changes. The company said in a press release that J. Chris Verenes will retire as its CEO on July 10. Darrell Rains, the chief financial officer, will retire on the same date. Rains joined the company's board, while Verenes will become vice chairman. “The company and the bank will continue to benefit from the knowledge and experience that Chris and Darrell

June 5, 2026
NSTS in Illinois divests mortage ops ahead of sale to Brookfield

NSTS in Illinois divests mortage ops ahead of sale to Brookfield

NSTS Bancorp in Waukegan, Ill., sold its mortgage business to comply with the terms of its pending sale to Brookfield Bancshares in Brookfield, Ill. The $333.4 billion-asset Brookfield agreed in May to pay $73.7 million in cash for the $266.6 million-asset NSTS in a deal expected to close in the fourth quarter. NSTS transferred certain assets, including real estate leases, third-party vendor contracts, trademark rights and other IT assets to

June 5, 2026
First Federal in Florida to sell third-party mortgage ops to CUSO

First Federal in Florida to sell third-party mortgage ops to CUSO

First Federal Bank in Lake City, Fla., has agreed to sell its third-party mortgage origination division. The $4.4 billion-asset bank said in a press release that it will sell the division, including QRL Financial, to Mortgage Forward in Chicago, a credit union service organization affiliated with Great Lakes Credit Union. The price wasn't disclosed. The sale is expected to close in the third quarter. The sale “allows our talented and dedicated

June 5, 2026
Ramp raises $750 million in latest fundraising round

Ramp raises $750 million in latest fundraising round

Ramp raised $750 million in a Series F fundraising round. The fintech said the funding round valued it at $44 billion. The round included 70,000+ customers, ICONIQ, GIC, Ontario Teachers'​ Pension Plan, and several new investors. "For 2000 years, business was built on two pillars. Today, a third: intelligence," CEO Eric Glyman said in a LinkedIn post. "It’s your least governed cost. It’s also your single greatest opportunity."

June 4, 2026