Strategic Insights into Banking & Fintech

Parke in N.J. missing ‘significant’ amount of money

Parke in N.J. missing ‘significant’ amount of money

Parke Bancorp in Washington Township, N.J., is missing a "significant" amount of cash that was held by a third party for its cannabis-related clients. The $2 billion-asset company said in a press release that an armored car company its uses to store and transport cash reported the money was missing. Parke didn’t state when the cash disappeared or precisely how much is missing, though it said about $9.5 million had

January 18, 2023
Horizon in Indiana lines up its next CEO

Horizon in Indiana lines up its next CEO

Horizon Bancorp in Michigan City, Ind., has its next CEO lined up. The $7.7 billion-asset company said in a press release that Thomas Prame, its president, will succeed Craig Dwight on June 1. Dwight will remain chairman, while Prame will still serve as president after becoming CEO. Dwight has been the company’s CEO since 2001. Prame joined Horizon last August. He previously served as CEO of community banking at First

January 18, 2023
Encore in Ark. adds Patriot partner to its board

Encore in Ark. adds Patriot partner to its board

Encore Bancshares in Little Rock, Ark., has added a former banker with ties to one of its investors to its board. The $3.5 billion-asset company said in a press release that Kelly Brown had also joined the board of Encore Bank. Brown is a partner at Patriot Financial Partners, a private equity firm that became Encore’s first institutional investor when it participated in the company’s 2022 private placement. Brown founded

January 17, 2023
Bank of Clarke County in Va. shortens name

Bank of Clarke County in Va. shortens name

Bank of Clarke County in Berryville, Va., has shortened its name. The $1.5 billion-asset bank said in a press release that it will now be known as Bank of Clarke. The move, which will include an updated logo and branding, reflects the bank’s expansion into other counties. "We are continuously looking for new opportunities to bring our brand of community banking to more customers," Brandon Lorey, the bank's president and

January 17, 2023
Fed, OCC approve BMO Financial-Bank of the West deal

Fed, OCC approve BMO Financial-Bank of the West deal

Bank of Montreal has received approval from the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to buy Bank of the West in San Francisco. As part of the approval, BMO Financial, the U.S. parent of the $164.8 billion-asset BMO Harris Bank agreed to provide the Fed and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. with an interim update to its resolution plan to reflect the acquisition. Because BMO

January 17, 2023
Silvergate in California continuing to sell securities

Silvergate in California continuing to sell securities

Silvergate Capital in La Jolla, Calif., which lost $1 billion in the fourth quarter amid "a crisis of confidence" in the digital assets industry, continues to sell securities to reduce borrowings. The $11.4 billion-asset company said in a press release that it has received $1.5 billion of proceeds and recognized $11.4 billion of losses and $5 million of gains from selling securities so far in 2023. Silvergate sold $5.2 billion of

January 17, 2023
Newtek taps insider to serve as bank president

Newtek taps insider to serve as bank president

Newtek Business Services in Boca Raton, Fla., has selected one of its own to become president of its newly acquired bank. The company disclosed in a regulatory filing that Nicolas Young had also become chief operating officer of Newtek Bank. Newtek said it agreed to pay Young an annual base salary of $500,000, though the amount will increase to $650,000 on March 1. “Cash bonuses will be based on performance

January 17, 2023
Driver Management launching two proxy challenges

Driver Management launching two proxy challenges

A well-known activist investor has set its sights on two banks. Driver Management in New York intends to nominate directors for the boards of First Foundation in Dallas and AmeriServ Financial in Johnstown, Pa. J. Abbott Cooper, who founded Driver, disclosed in a regulatory filing that he plans to nominate three candidates to join AmeriServ’s board. Driver owns about 8% of the $1.4 billion-asset AmeriServ’s stock. Three of AmerServ’s 10

January 14, 2023