Premier Financial in Defiance, Ohio, has sold an insurance business to Risk Strategies, a specialty insurance company in Boston. The $8.6 billion-asset Premier sold First Insurance Group for an undisclosed amount, according to a press release. The agency handles a wide range of insurance products. “The First Insurance Group and Risk Strategies teams share a common view on the importance of delivering superior products and services to our clients driven

Lake Shore Bancorp in Dunkirk, N.Y., has entered into a written agreement with the Federal Reserve that bars it from making a number of capital-related moves without Fed approval. The $700 million-asset company disclosed in a regulatory filing the new agreement follows a Feb. 9 consent order with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The company is no longer allowed to declare or pay dividends, repurchase stock, or

Shareholders of Republic First Bancorp will vote to fill three board seats at the next annual meeting after the Philadelphia company decided to add another director slot.   The $6.2 billion-asset company said in a press release that it will increase the size of its board from seven to eight directors prior to the Oct. 3 annual meeting.   “This addition is part of the board’s ongoing refreshment process intended

Pathfinder Bancorp in Oswego, N.Y., has added an executive at a high-profile bank investor to its board. The $1.4 billion-asset company said in a press release that Anthony Scavuzzo had joined its board. He is a managing principal at Castle Creek Capital in San Diego. Castle Creek is a private equity firm that specializes in the community banking industry. Castle Creek, under a May 2019 securities purchase agreement, was allowed

CCFNB Bancorp in Bloomsburg, Pa., and Muncy Bank Financial in Muncy, Pa., decided to take a second chance at romance. The $944 million-asset CCFNB and the $633 million-asset Muncy Bank were nearing a definitive agreement in April 2022 when talks ended over a disagreement on “operational matters,” according to a regulatory filing tied to their pending merger. The companies would “rekindle” their talks a year later, reaching an agreement in

Nearly 60 entities have been certified to use the Federal Reserve’s real-time payments system. The central bank said in a press release that 57 early adopter organizations, including financial institutions and service providers, have completed formal testing and certification for its FedNow Service. FedNow is expected to launch in late July. Early adopters are performing final trial runs to confirm readiness to support live transactions. Those participants include 41 financial

First Bank in Creve Coeur, Mo., will have a new CEO in 2024. The $6.6 billion-asset bank said in a press release that Shelley Siefert will retire at the end of this year. Siefert, who has served as CEO since 2019, will be succeeded by Mikel Williamson, who recently stepped down as Texas president of Happy State Bank. Williamson, who was Happy State’s CEO when it was sold to Home

Sendwave, a Boston-based remittance firm owned by Zepz, plans to open a neobank backed by Piermont Bank in New York. The fintech said in a press release that Sendwave Pay will offer U.S. customers a debit card and reimbursement for international transaction fees when the card is used internationally. “Investing in meaningful innovations to serve the needs of cross-border communities is part of our purpose and at the heart of