Reading Co-operative Bank in Reading, Mass., and Wakefield Co-operative Bank in Wakefield, Mass., are planning to merge. The surviving bank will operate as Reading Co-operative and will be led by Julieann Thurlow, the $922 million-asset Reading Co-operative's president and CEO. Jeffrey Worth, the $313 million-asset Wakefield Co-operative's president and CEO, will serve as president. “We want to assure customers that no branches will be closed as part of this transaction,"

Finastra has a new leader. The U.K. company, which provides financial services software applications, said in a press release that Chris Walters had become its CEO. Walters, who was CEO of Pluralsight and Avantax, succeeded Simon Paris. "I'm excited to join Finastra at this pivotal moment in its journey and am impressed by the significant progress that has been made during Simon's leadership," I look forward to working with the

UKG, a company that focuses on human resources, payroll and workforce management, has hired a veteran banker to lead its proposed national trust bank. Nancy Graves shared on her LinkedIn profile that she had been hired as the proposed bank's president. UKG had actively sought to fill the role by posting on several job search websites. Graves, who led Pascack Bancorp from 2013 to 2016 and Bancorp of New Jersey

Cogent Bancorp in Orlando, Fla., has raised nearly $6.6 million. The parent of the $1.9 billion-asset Cogent Bank completed a private placement of common stock on Jan. 2, according to data compiled by Performance Trust Capital Partners. The data did not include the amount of stock sold, the pricing, or the investors.

KeyCorp in Cleveland granted five executives, including CEO Chris Gorman, a total of $16.7 million in performance-based equity awards that will vest in two years. The company disclosed in a regulatory filing that the executives will receive the awards if it meets capital requirements and earnings goals. Gorman would receive nearly $7.6 million in equity rewards if the bank hits its goals in 2025 and 2026. Clark Khayat, Key's chief

The Peoples Savings Bank in Urbana, Ohio, has a new CEO. The $159.8 million-asset bank said in a press release that Marsha Bumgardner had also become its president. Bumgardner, who was a senior vice president and has been at the bank since 1997, succeeded Brian Nicol.

Bogota Financial in Teaneck, N.J., used proceeds from a sale-leaseback transaction to offset the costs of selling underwater securities. The $979 million-asset company said in a press release that it sold three branches to Mountainseed Real Estate Services for a $9 million pretax gain. Bogota said it will cost $1 million to rent the branches during the first year. Bogota also realized an $8.9 million pretax loss after selling $66

Great Southern Bank in Meridian, Miss., has a new CEO. The $338 million-asset bank also named Steven Cooksey to serve as its president. Cooksey, who joined the bank in 2015, was chief financial officer and chief operating officer.