First Guaranty Bancshares in Hammond, La., slashed its quarterly cash dividend to a penny. The $3.9 billion-asset company's previous dividend was 8 cents. First Guaranty began cutting its dividend in July, around the same time that it announced plans to lay off about 15% of its employees to shore up capital. Those decisions came just months after the company hired Michael Mineer as its next president and CEO.

Lenders Cooperative in Mechanicsburg, Pa., and Ventures Lending Technologies in San Diego are planning to merge. Lenders Cooperative provides integrated commercial lending platforms, while Ventures Lending Technologies provides lending technology. Financial terms were not disclosed. “Our banking partners that leverage our commercial loan origination technology have continued to seek a modern servicing platform to deliver a true end-to-end experience from originations through servicing,” Cary Cooper, Lenders Cooperative's CEO, said in

Vista Bank in Dallas has agreed to sell seven branches in rural markets to First United Bank in Dimmitt, Texas. The $2.4 billion-asset Vista applied with regulators to sell branches in the Texas markets of Abernathy, Hale Center, Haskell, Idalou, Petersburg, Plainview and Ralls. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter. First United has $2.2 billion in assets. The branches had a total of $383 million of deposits

Dream Chasers Capital continues to pressure Carver Bancorp after the New York company narrowly prevailed in a proxy battle with the activist investor. Carver said last week that its two director candidates received more votes than those presented by Dream Chasers, with less than 7,400 votes separating the second- and third-place votes. Dream Chasers, however, is taking issue with a decision made at the annual meeting to hold voting open

Northwest Bancshares in Columbus, Ohio, has agreed to buy Penns Woods Bancorp in Williamsport, Pa. The $14.4 billion-asset Northwest said in a press release that it will pay $270.4 million in stock for the $2.3 billion-asset Penns Woods. The deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter, priced Penns Woods at 139% of its tangible book value. Penns Woods has 24 branches, $1.7 billion of deposits and $1.9

The Independent Community Bankers of America has selected six fintechs for its latest ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator Program. Participating fintechs will enter a 10-week program that will kick off on Jan. 13. The fintechs are: Coverbase: Automates 90% of third-party risk assessments and lets banks focus on improving security and compliance. Fin3 Technologies: Provides solutions to reduce check fraud and streamline treasury operations. Fintegrate: Integration-as-a-service offering that lowers the costs and

Marathon Bancorp in Wausau, Wis., plans to convert from a mutual to a stock holding company. The $217 million-asset company said in a press release that its mutual holding company, formed in 2021, will cease to exist as part of the second-step conversion. The MHC currently owns about 57.4% of the company's outstanding shares. Eligible account holders as of the close of business on Sept. 30, 2023, have first priority

Flagstar Financial in Hicksville, N.Y., is ending 2024 with its third chief financial officer of this year. The $114.4 billion-asset company said in a press release that Lee Smith would become CFO on Dec. 27. Smith, who was president of mortgage at Flagstar, will succeed Craig Gifford. Gifford, who is leaving to "reengage in personal endeavors outside of the banking industry," will remain with the bank through March 31. “For