A group is looking to form a new bank in Houston. Organizers of Inspire Bank filed an application with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for deposit insurance on April 28. Inspire would be a national bank regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The application wasn’t immediately available. Inspire aims to become the third de novo in Houston in the past four years. Gulf Capital Bank opened

Land of Lincoln Credit Union in Decatur, Ill., has agreed to buy Nokomis Savings Bank in Nokomis, Ill. The $457 million-asset credit union said in a press release that it expects to complete its purchase of the $27 million-asset bank by the end of the first quarter of 2024. The price wasn’t disclosed. Nokomis has one branch, $21 million of deposits and $11 million of loans. The acquisition “is part

Partners Bancorp in Salisbury, Md., was allowed to look for a buyer after OceanFirst Financial, its original acquirer, agreed to a limited waiver of their exclusivity agreement. OceanFirst’s planned purchase of the $1.6 billion-asset Partners fell through last fall when they were unable to secure regulatory approval. Partners would agree in February to sell to the $1.2 billion-asset LINKBANCORP in Camp Hill, Pa., for $167.8 million. Partners’ began the sales

Sterling Bancorp in Southfield, Mich., narrowed its losses in the first quarter. The $2.4 billion-asset company said in a press release that it lost $500,000, an improvement from the $18.4 million loss it had in the fourth quarter. Sterling recorded a $6.5 million charge off in the first quarter after reclassifying about $41.1 million of nonaccrual and delinquent mortgages as held for sale. The company said it has received several

Republic First Bancorp in Philadelphia reported a $9.7 million first-quarter loss that reflected elevated legal expenses and an investment in the failed Signature Bank. The $6.2 billion-asset company said in a press release that it had a $3.1 million writedown tied preferred stock in Signature and $5.5 million of legal, professional and audit fees. The company lost $398,000 in the fourth quarter and earned $5.4 million a year earlier. “We

First Republic Bank in San Francisco, Calif., was closed by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., as receiver, entered into an agreement to sell all of the $229 billion-asset bank’s deposits to the $3.7 trillion-asset JPMorgan Chase Bank. The $30 billion of uninsured deposits that 11 banks placed at First Republic will be repaid post-close or eliminated in consolidation. First Republic replaced Silicon

Another bank is feeling the sting of Signature Bank’s failure. BayFirst Financial in St. Petersburg, Fla., disclosed that a scheduled sale of $60 million of Small Business Administration 7(a) loans to Signature fell through, leaving it to rebid to another investor “during less-favorable market conditions.” The $1.1 billion-asset company said the development resulted in gains from selling government-backed loans falling by $1.4 million in the first quarter from a quarter

Coastal Financial in Everett, Wash., said deposits increased largely because of its ongoing Banking-as-a-Service push. The $3.5 billion-asset company said in a press release that deposits rose by 9.9% in the first quarter from a quarter earlier, to $3.1 billion. Coastal said its CCBX business, which provides BaaS services, added $284.5 million of deposits in the quarter and now accounts for more than half of its total deposits. The community