Santander U.S. has hired the former head of Marcus. The bank said in a press release that Swati Bhatia, as head of retail banking and transformation, will oversee consumer and business banking, along with digital transformation efforts. Bhatia succeeded Pierre Habis, who joined Synchrony Financial last year. Santander "has reached an inflection point as we progress towards becoming a national, digital bank with branches,” Tim Wennes, CEO of Santander U.S., said

The organizers for a proposed Houston bank have added more directors, hired a new CEO, and again reapplied for deposit insurance. The group first applied with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in February 2022 to form Houston Bank of Commerce & Trust, reapplying in May 2023. The latest application has shortened the proposed de novo’s name to Houston Bank & Trust. “The organizers have significantly reconstituted their group by adding

Ally Financial in Charlotte, N.C., has hired Michael Rhodes as its new CEO. Ally said in a press release that Rhodes will start on April 29. He will also join Ally’s board. Rhodes recently served as CEO of Discover Financial Services, which is being acquired by Capital One Financial. He will replace Jeffrey Brown, who stepped down in January. Doug Timmerman, Ally’s president of dealer financial services, has been serving

Gouverneur Bancorp in Gouverneur, N.Y., has a new CEO.   The $204.9 million-asset company said in a press release that Robert Barlow was also named president of the company. He succeeded Charles Van Vleet Jr., who will remain president and CEO of GS&L Municipal Bank and assist with the executive transition.   Barlow was vice president of commercial and residential lending at Northern Credit Union in Watertown, N.Y.   “We

Integrated Financial Holdings, a government-guaranteed lender in Raleigh, N.C., has found a new buyer. The $548 million-asset parent of West Town Bank & Trust, which had a proposed sale to MVB Financial called off in May 2023, agreed to sell itself to Capital Bancorp in Rockville, Md. The $2.2 billion-asset Capital agreed to pay $66 million in cash and stock for Integrated Financial. Prior to closing, Integrated Financial is expected

BNA Bank in New Albany, Miss., has a new CEO. The $770 million-asset bank said that Mike Staten had succeeded Bo Collins, who retired. Staten has been the bank’s president since 2020. Collins had been CEO since 2013. Bob Spencer, the bank’s chief financial officer, will also serve as president. He will oversee the bank’s day-to-day operations and lead financial strategy and management.

LCNB Corp. has hired an investment bank to “begin evaluation” of the Lebanon, Ohio, company’s potential sale. The $2.3 billion-asset company, which is in the process of buying another bank, disclosed in a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission that it hired Hovde Group in December to help it weigh its options. The disclosure was in response to a shareholder proposal by Philip Timyan that LCNB’s board hire an

First National in Strasburg, Va., has agreed to buy Touchstone Bankshares in Prince George, Va. The $1.4 billion-asset First National said in a press release that it will pay $47 million in stock for the $658.7 million-asset Touchstone. The deal, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter, priced Touchstone at 106% of its tangible book value. Touchstone has 12 branches, $508.8 million of loans and $542.2 million of