AmeriServ Financial in Johnstown, Pa., has responded to Driver Management, stating that its board tried to work with the activist investor before it went public with a proxy challenge. Driver Management, led by Abbott Cooper, recently disclosed plans to nominate three directors to stand for election to the $1.4 billion-asset AmeriServ’s board. Driver owns about 8.1% of AmeriServ’s outstanding stock.  AmeriServ disclosed in a regulatory filing that its board is

Florence Bank in Florence, Mass., has a new CEO. Matt Garrity was also named president of the $1.9 billion-asset bank, according to MassLive. Garrity succeeded Michael Lynch, a senior commercial lender who had been interim president and CEO since Kevin Day retired in late November.   Garrity previously served as chief lending officer and head of residential lending at Premier Bank.   The search for a permanent leader began in

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

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

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

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

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

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