Strategic Insights into Banking & Fintech

Rhinebeck to pay fine to address auto loan processes

Rhinebeck to pay fine to address auto loan processes

Rhinebeck Bank in Rhinebeck, N.Y., agreed to pay a $950,000 fine to address claims by the New York State Department of Financial Services that it violated the state’s fair lending law. The $1.3 billion-asset bank also agreed to provide restitution to affected customers, the regulator said in a press release. Rhinebeck's "specific policies and practices allowed automobile dealers to markup a consumer's interest rate above the bank’s established buy rate,

October 7, 2022
BofA settling legal claims from 2008 financial crisis

BofA settling legal claims from 2008 financial crisis

Bank of America in Charlotte, N.C., agreed to pay about $1.8 billion to resolve claims that go back to the 2008 financial crisis.  The $2.2 trillion-asset Bank of America disclosed in a regulatory filing that it will pay the settlement to Ambac Assurance to address pending Ambac lawsuits against the company and its subsidiaries. Pending lawsuits against Bank of America had aggregate damages claims totaling more than $3 billion. The

October 6, 2022
Texas group creates platform to test fintech products

Texas group creates platform to test fintech products

Bankers Helping Bankers, a program associated with the Independent Bankers Association of Texas, has created a platform to let participants pilot fintech products. Participating banks will help vetted fintechs by beta testing products, providing feedback, influencing product development and assisting with rollout strategies. Banks that pilot products “have potential fintech partnerships at low to no cost for an agreed upon timeline,” Bankers Helping Bankers said in a press release. Banks

October 6, 2022
Home Federal to buy Northwest Bancshares in La.

Home Federal to buy Northwest Bancshares in La.

Home Federal Bancorp in Shreveport, La., has agreed to buy Northwest Bancshares in Benton, La. The $590.5 million-asset Home said in a press release that it will pay $10.1 million in cash for the $81.7 million-asset parent of First National Bank of Benton. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter. A portion of the purchase price will be based on Northwest’s assets at the end of the

October 4, 2022
Republic First reaches truce with Driver Management

Republic First reaches truce with Driver Management

Republic First Bancorp in Philadelphia has reached a truce with a large shareholder. The $5.7 billion-asset company said in a press release that it has secured a cooperation agreement with Driver Management. As part of the agreement, Republic First appointed Peter Bartholow, former chief financial officer and chief operations officer at Texas Capital Bancshares, to its board. Driver agreed to withdraw its notice of intent to nominate director candidates for

October 4, 2022
Q2 buys machine learning platform Sensibill

Q2 buys machine learning platform Sensibill

Q2 Holdings in Austin, Texas, has acquired Sensibill in Toronto, Canada. Q2 said in a press release that it bought the machine learning platform on Oct. 3. The price wasn’t disclosed. “Delivering differentiated and personalized experiences through the digital channel is a top priority,” Kirk Coleman, Q2’s chief banking officer, said in the release. “Sensibill’s solution enables financial institutions to better understand the spending behaviors of their account holders, positioning

October 4, 2022
Community Heritage in Md. discloses cyber breach

Community Heritage in Md. discloses cyber breach

Community Heritage Financial in Middletown, Md., was the target of a cybersecurity attack. The parent of the $873 million-asset Middletown Valley Bank said in a press release that it determined that there was unauthorized access to a portion of its IT system.  The company said it implemented “a series of containment and remediation measures” within hours of detecting the event. Community Heritage said it launched an investigation and engaged legal

October 3, 2022
Capital One in Va. merges bank subsidiaries

Capital One in Va. merges bank subsidiaries

Capital One Financial in McLean, Va., has merged its two banks into a single subsidiary. The $435.3 billion-asset company disclosed in a regulatory filing that it merged Capital One Bank (USA) into Capital One NA. Capital One NA is the surviving entity. Capital One NA had $388.4 billion of assets on June 30, while Capital One Bank had $126.7 billion of assets.

October 3, 2022