First Commerce Bancorp in Lewisburg, Tenn., has agreed to buy Peoples Bank of Middle Tennessee in Shelbyville. The holding company for the $653 million-asset First Commerce Bank expects to complete its purchase of the $185 million-asset Peoples Bank in the first quarter. The price wasn't disclosed. Peoples Bank has one branch. Olsen Palmer advised Peoples Bank.

Informa Group, which operates the Finovate conference series, has acquired Ascential. Ascential is the company behind the annual Money20/20 conference in Las Vegas. The financial terms were not disclosed. Informa Group said it will form Informa Festivals, a new business for its conference events, on Jan. 1. “The completion of the Ascential acquisition, creation of Informa Festivals and prospective creation of Informa TechTarget will establish leadership and scale in all

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau created an exemption for smaller banks when it comes to the agency's new open banking rule. Banks with less than $850 million in assets will not be required to implement Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act, according to the massive 594-page rule. That would exempt about 3,370 banks, based on data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The final rule requires data providers to make

Banco Santander has debuted its digital bank in the United States. The Spanish bank launched Openbank, which has been available in Europe for some time, by offering a high-yield savings account. The plan is to add more products, including a checking account, debit cards and CDs in 2025; loans could be available a year after that. The move should allow Santander to expand deposit gathering beyond its retail bank, which

Banc of California in Irvine reported a quarterly loss after selling underwater securities. The $33.4 billion-asset company said in a press release that it lost $1.2 million in the third quarter. The company sold $742 million of available-for-sale securities for a pretax loss of $60 million. It used proceeds to buy higher-yielding securities in a move that should increase interest income by about $4.8 million each quarter. Banc of California also

Citizens Alliance Bank in Clara City, Minn., has agreed to buy Stockmens Bank in Cascade, Mont. The $1.4 billion-asset Citizens expects to complete its purchase of the $42 million-asset Stockmens early next year. The price wasn't disclosed. “Citizens Alliance Bank intends to maintain a continued presence in Cascade," Chad Forkrud, the bank's president, said in a press release. "Commitment to the customers and employees of Stockmens Bank will not change.

GBank Financial Holdings in Las Vegas raised $20 million from a private placement. The parent of the $1 billion-asset GBank sold common stock, with Raymond James and Janney Montgomery Scott serving as financial advisers. "This additional capital positions us to execute on our strategic growth initiatives," Edward Nigro, the company's executive chairman, said in a press release. "We deeply appreciate the confidence our investors have placed in us and look

Atlantic Union Bankshares in Richmond, Va., has agreed to buy Sandy Spring Bancorp in Olney, Md. The $27.5 billion-asset Atlantic Union said in a press release that it will pay $1.6 billion in stock for the $14.4 billion-asset Sandy Spring. The deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter of next year, priced Sandy Spring at 128% of its tangible book value. Atlantic Union also plans to raise