Territorial Bancorp in Honolulu doubled down on its commitment to selling itself to Hope Bancorp in Los Angeles despite an increased offer from a shareholder group. The $2.2 billion-asset Territorial said in a press release that the offer from a group led by Allan Landon and Blue Hill Advisors has "so many unanswered questions" and "remains highly uncertain and inferior" to its existing agreement with the $18.1 billion-asset Hope. Territorial's

Byline Bancorp in Chicago has agreed to buy First Security Bancorp in Elmwook Park, Ill. The $9.6 billion-asset Byline said in a press release that it will pay $41 million in cash and stock for the $355 million-asset First Security. The deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter, priced First Security at 131% of its tangible book value. First Security has one branch, $201 million of loans

Ponce Financial Group in New York has expanded into Florida. The company said in a press release that it opened a representative office in Coral Gables. Jay Sanchez will split time between New Jersey and Florida as the new office's customer relationship officer. “Many of our customers have businesses in Florida or spend their winter months here, and the large Hispanic community perfectly fits one of our primary demographics," Ponce President

Wells Fargo in San Francisco and Fiserv in Milwaukee are planning to end joint venture Wells Fargo Merchant Services. Fiserv disclosed in a regulatory filing that it expects to record a noncash impairment charge in the third quarter. The company, which inherited a 40% stake in the WFMS from its 2019 purchase of First Data, said it the venture is expected to expire on April 1. Fiserv said that, upon

A pair of credit unions focused on the Ukrainian-American community are planning to merge. The $1.4 billion-asset Self Reliance New York Federal Credit Union and the $535 million-asset Ukrainian Selfreliance Federal Credit Union in Feasterville Trevose, Pa., said in a press release that they expect to complete their merger next year. The combined credit union would have 11 branches in four states and serve roughly 31,000 members. “Our missions have long been

Pathward Financial in Sioux Falls, S.D., and AFS IBEX Financial Services said they remain committed to the sale of Pathward’s commercial insurance premium finance business despite a fast-approaching termination date. AFS, a unit of Honor Capital Holdings, agreed in August to buy the business for a $31.2 million premium above the net asset value of the assets, which was $617.1 million on June 30. The deal has an Oct. 1

Rhinebeck Bancorp in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., repositioned its securities portfolio. The company said in a press release that it sold $71 million of available-for-sale securities at a pretax loss of $12 million. The proceeds were reinvested into new securities offering higher yields. The transaction is projected to increase earnings per share by 12 cents and the net interest margin by 0.17% over the next 12 months. “This strategic restructuring is a

MidWestOne Financial Group in Iowa City raised $103.5 million by selling common stock. The company said in a press release that it sold about 4.3 million shares in a public offering at $25 each. The underwriters have permission to sell another 652,000 shares. MidWestOne said it plans to invest all of the net proceeds into its bank to support capital ratios tied to the potential repositioning of “a substantial portion” of