Ashton Ryan, former CEO of First NBC Bank, has been found guilty of bank fraud charges that contributed to the New Orleans bank’s failure in 2017. A court found Ryan guilty of all 46 counts against him, according to multiple media reports. Ryan had been accused of approving loans for borrowers that he knew couldn’t repay the debt. He was accused of hiding the financial status of the loans and

Northwest Bank in Columbus, Ohio, has formed a commercial finance group. The $14 billion-asset bank said in a press release that the group will focus on business aviation, long-haul trucking, inland and offshore marine financing and general equipment loans to large and midsize companies. The group will operate across the eastern United States. Lee Palm was named the group’s president. He previously served as president of commercial finance at TCF

Affirm Holdings in San Francisco has reduced its reliance on Cross River Bank in Teaneck, N.J., to originate loans. The fintech, which focuses on Buy Now, Pay Later products, disclosed in its quarterly filing that, as of Jan. 31, most of the loans originated through its platform are being handled by Celtic Bank in Salt Lake City. Affirm said the decision was made in January as part of a broader

Wells Fargo agreed to pay $300 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that claimed the San Francisco company did not tell investors it had knowingly charged unnecessary auto-collision protection insurance. The settlement, which needs to be approved by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, was disclosed in a press release by law firm Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd, which represented the plaintiffs. A trial in the

SVB Financial Group in Santa Clara, Calif., has promoted several executives to lead key verticals. The $213 billion-asset company said in a press release that Ashraf Hebela had become head of technology and healthcare banking. Hebala, who previously served as head of startup banking, succeeded Dave Sabow, who was named CEO of Silicon Valley Bank UK and head of EMEA, pending regulatory approval. SVB also said Lewis Hower succeeded Hebala

Adelphi Bank, a black-owned de novo in Columbus, Ohio, is poised to become the first bank to open in 2023. The bank was cleared to open by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Jan. 18. Organizers were required to raise about $17.7 million when they received conditional FDIC approval last May. The group initially filed an application with the FDIC in the fall of 2021. Adelphi, a minority depository institution

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. lowered the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) rating for Transportation Alliance Bank, reflecting an issue with one of the Ogden, Utah, bank’s fintech partners. The $1.2 billion-asset bank’s rating was lowered from “satisfactory” to “needs to improve.” The agency did not identify the fintech, which apparently ran afoul of a section in the Federal Trade Commission Act by having an “illegal credit practice” that affected a

Country Agencies & Investments, a bank holding company in Odessa, Mo., has merged the three banks it owns. The BHC merged Commercial Bank of Oak Grove and La Monte Community Bank into its Bank of Odessa. The consolidation took place in January, according to the Kansas City Business Journal. The consolidation created a bank with about $517 million of assets. “As Odessa's hometown bank, we take pride in knowing that