Cadence Bank in Tupelo, Miss., plans to close 35 branches this year, or roughly 8.5% of its network. The $48.7 billion-asset bank, formed through the merger of Cadence and BancorpSouth, had 412 branches in mid-2022, according to data compiled by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. “In order to best optimize and strengthen our branch network, we have made this decision,” Dan Rollins, the bank’s chairman and CEO, said in a

Lakeland Financial in Warsaw, Ind., has a new president. The $6.4 billion-asset company said in a press release that Kristin Pruitt had also become president of its Lake City Bank. She also joined the boards of the company and the bank. Pruitt succeeded David Findlay, who remains CEO. Pruitt joined the company in 2008 and has served as chief administrative officer since 2019. “Kristin has proven to be an impactful

MVB Financial in Fairmont, W.Va., and Integrated Financial Holdings in Raleigh, N.C., have terminated MVB’s proposed purchase of IFHI. The $3.6 billion-asset MVB said in a press release that the decision reflected “changing market conditions that have pressured bank industry stock prices” and “understandable delays in regulatory processes.” Neither company will pay termination fees. MVB agreed in August to buy the parent of the $404 million-asset West Town Bank &

Perry County Bancorp has entered into a written agreement with the Federal Reserve that instructs the Du Quoin, Ill., company to improve oversight over liquidity and interest rate risk. The Fed entered into the agreement with Perry County and its $137 million-asset Du Quoin State Bank in April but it was just disclosed last week. The agreement requires the board to take actions to improve the bank's condition and maintain

The California Department of Financial Protection has joined the Federal Reserve in accepting some responsibility for the March 10 failure of Silicon Valley Bank. While the regulator asserted in its report that SVB was slow to remediate regulator-identified deficiencies, it acknowledged that its examiners did not take adequate steps to ensure the bank quickly addressed problems. The report also observed that SVB’s unusually rapid growth was insufficiently accounted for in

Goldman Sachs in New York said that U.S. agencies are looking into its dealings with SVB Financial leading up to the March seizure of Silicon Valley Bank. The investment bank disclosed in its quarterly filing that it is “cooperating with and providing information to various governmental bodies.” The filing did not disclose which agencies were looking into the matter. Goldman was one of the underwriters of a proposed capital raise

PacWest Bancorp in Los Angeles cut its dividend to a penny. The $44.3 billion-asset company said late Friday that it had lowered the quarterly payout, which previously was 25 cents a share. The reduction is a “prudent step” that reflects economic uncertainty, banking sector volatility and potential regulatory changes to capital requirements, CEO Paul Taylor said in a press release. "Our business remains fundamentally sound," he added. PacWest has faced

Blue Ridge Bankshares in Charlottesville, Va., has hired a veteran banker to serve as CEO of its bank. The $2.9 billion-asset company said in a press release that Billy Beale will oversee Blue Ridge Bank, succeeding Brian Plum. Beale was president and CEO of Community Bankers Bank from November 2018 to July 2020, where he remains on the board. Before that, he was CEO of Union Bank & Trust from