Strategic Insights into Banking & Fintech

Fintech Solid files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

Fintech Solid files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

Solid Financial Technologies, also known as Wise Company, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The California-based fintech, which offers infrastructure for digital banking and payment processing, submitted its petition on Monday, listing both assets and liabilities in the $1 million to $10 million range. The bankruptcy marks yet another blow to the increasingly fragile Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) ecosystem. Once hailed

April 9, 2025
Wealth management fintech Alinea raises $10M in Series A round

Wealth management fintech Alinea raises $10M in Series A round

Alinea Invest, a wealth management fintech focused on younger investors, has raised $10.4 million in its Series A funding round. Eve Halimi, the New York company's co-founder and co-CEO, announced in a LinkedIn post that the funding was led by Play Ventures and included GFR Fund, Y Combinator, Gaingels, FoundersX Ventures, and F7 Ventures. "A huge thank you to our incredible team, investors, and community—this wouldn’t be possible without you," Halimi

April 9, 2025
Ripple to buy broker Hidden Road for nearly $1.3 billion

Ripple to buy broker Hidden Road for nearly $1.3 billion

Ripple, a San Francisco company that provides digital asset infrastructure, has agreed to buy New York prime broker Hidden Road for nearly $1.3 billion. “We are at an inflection point for the next phase of digital asset adoption – the U.S. market is effectively open for the first time due to the regulatory overhang of the former SEC coming to an end, and the market is maturing to address the

April 9, 2025
F.N.B. to buy Pittsburgh investment bank Raptor Partners

F.N.B. to buy Pittsburgh investment bank Raptor Partners

F.N.B. Corp. in Pittsburgh has agreed to buy Pittsburgh investment bank Raptor Partners. F.N.B. did not disclose the price it will pay for Raptor, which focuses on M&A, corporate finance, valuation advisory and private capital raising. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter. "The addition of investment banking rounds out our offerings, enabling FNB to provide clients with advisory services throughout their entire business life cycle," Vincent

April 8, 2025
First Citizens, FDIC end Silicon Valley shared-loss agreement

First Citizens, FDIC end Silicon Valley shared-loss agreement

First Citizens BancShares in Raleigh, N.C., and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. have ended their shared-loss agreement tied to the 2023 failure of Silicon Valley Bank. First Citizens took over much of Silicon Valley Bank's operations when it failed. The five-year shared-loss agreement covered an estimated $60 billion of loans. Under the agreement's terms, the FDIC agreed to reimburse First Citizens for half of any losses if they amounted to

April 7, 2025
PNC snags Blackrock exec as its new president

PNC snags Blackrock exec as its new president

PNC Financial Services Group in Pittsburgh snagged a Blackrock executive to serve as its president. The company said in a press release that Mark Wiedman will also serve as president of PNC Bank. The company's primary operating lines and regional presidents will report to Wiedman, who will then report to Chairman and CEO William Demchak. Wiedman was a senior managing director at BlackRock and a member of its global executive

April 7, 2025
First National Bank in Ohio promotes insider as its next CEO

First National Bank in Ohio promotes insider as its next CEO

First National Bank in Pandora, Ohio, has a new leader. The bank said in a press release that Brendon Matthews was named CEO. He has been serving as president since May 2024. Matthews succeeded Todd Mason, who retired. Mason remains on the board. “I am honored to serve the bank in this new role and I am excited to work with our great team to keep living out our mission

April 7, 2025
Southern Financial in S.C. hired new bank CEO

Southern Financial in S.C. hired new bank CEO

Southern Bank in Spartanburg, S.C., has a new leader. The bank said in a press release that M.J. Huggins III is its new CEO. Huggins recently served as director of credit risk management at United Bank. Huggins' "deep understanding of community banking, combined with his proven track record of leadership and passion for serving local businesses and families, makes him the perfect choice to drive our next phase of growth,"

April 7, 2025