The organizers of the proposed Private Bank & Trust plan to raise at least $27 million in initial capital. The group recently applied to open the bank in Gainesville, Ga. Private Bank is being positioned as a high-touch, relationship-driven institution focused on small businesses, professionals and affluent households. Organizers expect up to three-fourths of banking activity to originate in Hall County, according to the application with the Federal Deposit Insurance

Monet Bank in Plano, Texas, is planning a push into crypto lending and custody. The $4.5 billion-asset bank, owned by Andy Beal, is now positioning itself as an "infrastructure bank" that will focus on digital assets. "Monet is focused on being the premier digital asset financial institution, providing innovative and forward-facing solutions for the digital economy," according to the bank's website. The bank, formed as Beal Savings Bank in the

West Union Bank in West Virginia is setting the stage for a new president and CEO. West Union said in a press release that Thomas Whaling, who has spent more than two decades leading the bank, will retire in January. “Tom has always led by example, treating other people the way he wants to be treated," the bank said in the release. "Some qualities that make Tom a great leader

Primis Financial in McLean, Va., entered into a sale-leaseback transaction for 18 branches. The $4 billion-asset company said in a press release that it sold the locations to MountainSeed for a pretax gain of $50 million. Separately, Primis plans to sell $144 million of securities at a pretax loss of $14.8 million. About $50 million of the proceeds will fund near-term loan growth, with the rest reinvested in higher-yielding securities.

Pipe, a fintech that offers embedded payments services, has a new leader a month after disclosing a large number of layoffs. The company said that Claurelle Rakipovic had replaced Luke Voiles as CEO. Rakipovic was the company's chief product officer. Voiles had served as CEO since early 2023.

USCB Financial Holdings in Miami is the latest bank to unload underperforming securities. The company said in a press release that it sold $44.6 million in lower-yielding securities, representing 12.6% of its portfolio, at an after-tax loss of $5.6 million. The plan is to reinvest the proceeds in higher-yielding securities. It should take the company more than three years to earn back the upfront loss. “Our strong capital position gives

HoldCo Asset Management, which is pressuring several regional banks, is now urging KeyCorp in Cleveland to oust Chairman and CEO Chris Gorman. The activist investor, which owns about 0.7% of Key's stock, said in a board presentation made publicly available that it also wants the company to adopt a “no acquisitions” policy and direct all excess capital toward share repurchases, among other things. HoldCo indicated it is evaluating other avenues,

Webster Financial in Stamford, Conn., has acquired a provider of employer-sponsored emergency savings accounts. The $80 billion-asset company said in a press release that its HSA Bank division bought SecureSave. The price wasn't disclosed. The acquisition "continues our commitment to deepening our expertise and capabilities in our Healthcare Financial Services segment,” Luis Massiani, Webster Bank's president and chief operating officer, said in the release. “Adding SecureSave to our portfolio reinforces