Western Alliance Bancorp. said it is weighing its legal options after the Financial Times published an article saying the Phoenix company is considering a sale. The $50 billion-asset Western Alliance said in a press release that the article is “categorically false in all respects.” The company said it is not exploring a sale and has not hired an adviser to explore strategic options. “It is shameful and irresponsible that the

Inspire Bank, a proposed Houston de novo, plans to apply to become a minority depository institution (MDI). Organizers also plan to form Inspire Holdings, a holding company for the proposed bank, according to an application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The bank plans to focus on entrepreneurs and small and midsize businesses. Lyla London, Eduardo Gutierrez, Bruce Lammers, Ramy Mankarious and Ryan Watson are the proposed

Noble Credit Union in Fresno, Calif., has a new CEO. The $1.2 billion-asset credit union said in a press release that Gino Cayanan had also become its president. Cayanan succeeded Susan Ryan, who retired after leading the credit union for 22 years. Cayanan recently served as chief financial officer at Los Angeles Police Federal Credit Union.

Equity Bancshares in Wichita, Kan., has hired a new bank president. The $5.1 billion-asset company said in a press release that Rick Sems will oversee its sales and service teams and will join Equity Bank’s board. He succeeded Craig Anderson, who resigned. Sems, who  recently served as chief banking officer at First Bank in St. Louis, will move to Wichita and join the company on May 15. “Rick’s track record

PacWest Bancorp in Los Angeles said it hasn’t experienced any “out-of-the-ordinary deposit outflows” since Monday’s failure of First Republic Bank.   The $44.3 billion-asset company also said in a press release that it is having discussions after being approached by several potential partners.   “Discussions are ongoing,” PacWest said. “The company will continue to evaluate all options to maximize shareholder value.”   PacWest said that core customer deposits have risen

TD Bank Group in Toronto and First Horizon in Memphis, Tenn., have called off their planned merger. The $1.9 trillion-asset TD and the $80.7 billion-asset First Horizon said in a press release that the deal was terminated due to uncertainty over TD getting regulatory approval for the $13.4 billion acquisition. TD agreed to pay First Horizon $200 million in cash and a $25 million fee reimbursement under the terms of

Greenwood, an Atlanta digital bank focused on the Black and Latino communities, has acquired Kinly, a neobank that also serves Black clients. Greenwood said in a press release that the purchase will help grow its ecosystem of more than a million members and provide Kinly’s 300,000 users with more financial products. The purchase price wasn’t disclosed. Kinly has raised $20 million since launching in 2020 from investors such as Forerunner

Securities sales cut into first-quarter profits at First of Long Island in Melville, N.Y. The $4.2 billion-asset company said in a press release that net income fell 46% from a year earlier, to $6.5 million. The company recorded a $3.5 million loss from selling $149 million of fixed-rate municipal securities. It then bought $135 million of floating-rate SBA securities. The bank expects to earn back the loss in just over