Strategic Insights into Banking & Fintech

Quaint Oak in Pa. exited two underperforming businesses in first quarter

Quaint Oak in Pa. exited two underperforming businesses in first quarter

Quaint Oak Bancorp in Southampton, Pa., cut ties with two businesses in the first quarter. The $776 million-asset Quaint Oak said in a press release that it sold its 51% interest in Oakmont Capital Holdings, an equipment finance company. Quaint Oak bought the stake in January 2022 for an undisclosed price. Oakmont, which does business in all 50 states, has offices in West Chester, Pa., and Albany, Minn.  JA Mitsui

May 9, 2024
Aspiration Partners spins off consumer financial services business

Aspiration Partners spins off consumer financial services business

Aspiration Partners spun off its consumer financial services business into a separate company run by its former chief operating officer. The Fintech said in a press release that Tim Newell reached an agreement to spin out the neobank, which still operates under the Aspiration brand. The price wasn’t disclosed. Before joining Aspiration, Newell was a former head of the consumer financial products teams at SolarCity and Tesla. "There's a large

May 9, 2024
First Community in Virginia to pay $5M to settle overdraft lawsuit

First Community in Virginia to pay $5M to settle overdraft lawsuit

First Community Bankshares in Bluefield, Va., will settle a lawsuit tied to its overdraft practices. The $3.2 billion-asset company disclosed in a regulatory filing that its bank plans to create a $4.8 million settlement fund and forgive up to $500,000 in assessed but unpaid fees. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia in June 2022, alleges that the bank breached deposit account

May 8, 2024
Pacific West Bancorp in Ore. finalizes CEO succession

Pacific West Bancorp in Ore. finalizes CEO succession

Pacific West Bancorp in Portland, Ore., will soon have a new leader. The $320 million-asset company said in a press release that Jason Wessling will become its CEO on June 1. Wessling, who will remain president, will succeed Terry Peterson, who is retiring. Peterson will remain on the board. "We knew … Wessling was a special leader when he joined the bank," Peterson said in the release. "His promotion to president

May 8, 2024
Pinegrove Capital agrees to buy SVB Capital

Pinegrove Capital agrees to buy SVB Capital

Pinegrove Capital Partners has agreed to buy SVB Capital from SVB Financial Group. Pinegrove, backed by capital from Brookfield Asset Management and Sequoia Heritage, will pay with cash and “other economic consideration.” Pinegrove and SVB Capital will operate independently, led by their existing management teams. The deal requires bankruptcy court approval. The pricing wasn’t disclosed.   SVB Capital has about $10 billion of assets under management across venture capital fund

May 7, 2024
Chime to pay $4.5M as part of CFBP consent order

Chime to pay $4.5M as part of CFBP consent order

Chime Financial was ordered by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to pay more than $4.5 million for failing to give consumers timely refunds when their accounts were closed.  The CFPB fined Chime roughly $3.3 million and ordered the San Francisco challenger bank to pay $1.3 million in restitution. The bureau said in a 28-page consent order that thousands of consumers waited months to get refunds, creating "significant financial harm." Impacted consumers will

May 7, 2024
Veteran bank leader joins board of MidWestOne in Iowa

Veteran bank leader joins board of MidWestOne in Iowa

MidWestOne Finacial Group in Iowa City recruited a banking veteran with ties to its CEO to join its board. The $6.7 billion-asset company said in a press release that Carl Chaney was one of three new board members. Cheney, a former president and CEO of Hancock Whitney, was chairman of Beach Bancorp in Florida when Chip Reeves, MidWestOne’s CEO, ran that bank. Beach was sold to First Bancshares in Hattiesburg,

May 7, 2024
FIS leverages Bond purchase to offer Banking-as-a-Service product

FIS leverages Bond purchase to offer Banking-as-a-Service product

FIS has released a Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) product that builds off of its purchase of Bond. Atelio is "an innovative fintech platform that provides the building blocks for financial institutions, businesses and software developers to embed financial services into their offerings," FIS said in a press release. KeyCorp, payment solutions company Royal Pay, and private student lender College Ave are the initial clients for the service. Atelio “is our vision to

May 7, 2024