Horizon Bancorp in Michigan City, Ind., repositioned its balance sheet. The $8 billion-asset company said in a press release that it sold $382.7 million of available-for-sale securities at a $31.6 million pretax loss. The company also surrendered $112.8 million in bank-owned life insurance. Horizon said it plans to redeploy the proceeds during the first half of 2024 into higher-yielding loans and other liquid assets. The company said the moves should

Axos Financial in Las Vegas bought two commercial real estate loan portfolios from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The $20.8 billion-asset company said in a press release that it paid cash for nearly $1.3 billion of performing loans that were previously held by the failed Signature Bank at a purchase price equal to about 63% of par value. The result was a roughly $463.7 million discount to par value for

FVCBankcorp in Fairfax, Va., has restructured its balance sheet. The $2.3 billion-asset said in a regulatory filing that it sold $61.4 million of securities at an $8.5 million after-tax loss. The company plans to initially hold the proceeds in its cash accounts with the Federal Reserve before paying down high-cost funding and funding new loan growth. The restructuring is expected to be accretive to net interest income, net interest margin

Veritex Holdings in Dallas has agreed to sell its minority stake in a mortgage company. The $12.3 billion-asset company disclosed in a regulatory filing that it will sell its 49% stake in Thrive Mortgage to Lower Holding Co. Veritex will buy a roughly 12.5% equity interest in Lower Holding. The transactions are expected to close in the first quarter. Veritex said it expects to recognize a $25 million to $30

Discover Financial Services in Riverwoods, Ill., has hired a former executive at TD Bank Group as its next CEO. The $143 billion-asset company said in a press release that Michael Rhodes will step into the role by March 6. Rhodes, who will join the board, will succeed interim CEO John Owen, who took over in August when Roger Hochschild resigned. Owen will remain on Discover's board. "Michael's appointment follows a

First United in Oakland, Md., plans to close four branches in February. The $1.9 billion-asset company disclosed in a regulatory filing that two branches are in Maryland – Frederick and Cumberland – and the others are in West Virginia – Bridgeport and Morgantown. First United expects to incur $1.3 million of one-time charges tied to the closures, mostly covering leasing costs and accelerated depreciation of furniture and fixtures. The move

Organizers of a proposed bank in Carthage, Mo., plan to raise $25 million of initial capital. Four States Bank would start with three branches – two in Carthage and one in nearby Joplin, Mo., according to organizers’ application with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The bank would have 11 directors: Gary Metzger, Jeffrey Williams, Carter Peters, Garry Robinson, Brian Williams, Jerry Ross, Steven Simon, Stephanie Stenger, Patrick Scott, Logan Aguirre

A second balance sheet restructuring has taken place at 1895 Bancorp of Wisconsin in Greenfield. The $553 million-asset company said in a press release that it sold $28.1 million of lower-yielding investment securities for a $2.7 million pretax loss. The proceeds were redeployed into about $28.7 million of U.S. government-sponsored mortgage-backed securities. The move should generate $1 million of additional pretax earnings on an annualized basis. The loss from the