A group of former Signature Bank executives has launched a blockchain-based bank to offer instant payments. Scott Shay, Signature's former chairman, is one of the founders of N3XT, along with Jeffrey Wallis, who was the New York bank's director of digital asset and Web3 strategy. The other founders are Aurélien Bonnel and Kyle O’Donnell. Wallis is the bank's president and CEO. N3XT will operate under a Wyoming special-purpose bank charter.

FirstSun Capital Bancorp plans to add a representative from Castle Creek Capital Partners to its board after the investment group bought stock from another one of the Denver company's investors. Castle Creek said in a press release that it purchased $40 million of FirstSun common stock, adding that it now has a 4% stake in the company. Spencer Cohn is expected to join FirstSun’s board when the company buys First

South Plains Financial in Lubbock, Texas, has agreed to buy BOH Holdings in Houston. The $4.8 billion-asset South Plains said in a press release that it will pay $105.9 million in stock for the parent of the $772 million-asset Bank of Houston. The deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter, priced BOH at 143% of its tangible common equity. Bank of Houston has $633 million in loans

Midland States Bancorp in Effingham, Ill., has sold substantially all of its equipment finance portfolio to an affiliate of North Mill Equipment Finance. The $6.9 billion-asset Midland States said in a press release that NMEF paid $502 million in cash for the portfolio, which included about $599 million in loans and leases and $21 million of operating leases. The deal excludes about $75 million of loans and leases that Midland

Associated Banc-Corp in Green Bay, Wis., has agreed to buy American National in Omaha, Neb. The $44 billion-asset Associated said in a press release that it will pay $604 million in stock for the $5.3 billion-asset parent of American National Bank. The deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter, priced American National at 114% of its tangible book value. American National has 33 branches, $3.8 billion of

Boston Trust Walden Co. in Boston has received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to convert from a state-chartered bank to a national trust bank. The company, which manages about $16 billion of assets, will become Boston Trust Walden NA on Jan. 1. The board chose to obtain a national trust bank charter because it enables the bank to more easily provide trust and fiduciary

MoneyLion agreed to pay nearly $1.8 million to resolve a lawsuit from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The CFPB had alleged that the fintech charged more than the maximum 36% interest rate allowed by the Military Lending Act on loans to service members. MoneyLion, as part of the settlement, is prohibited from extending consumer credit at rates higher than 36% to borrowers for whom the MLA cap applies, including credit

Plumas Bancorp in Reno, Nev., entered into a sale-leaseback transaction for two administrative offices in Quincy, Calif. The company disclosed in a regulatory filing that it sold the buildings to BBS Branch III for nearly $5.6 million. The bank then agreed to lease the properties for 15 years, with three five-year renewal options. The initial annual rent is $463,000 with 3% annual increases. The transaction resulted in a $5.5 million