The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is planning a dramatic reduction in assessment fees.The OCC is planning a 40% reduction in assessments for a bank’s first $200 million of assets, Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu said during prepared remarks to the Texas Bankers Association.The agency will lower the assessment for bank assets between $200 million and $20 billion by 20%. The changes will become effective next

BankFirst Capital in Columbus, Miss., has agreed to buy Mechanics Banc Holding in Water Valley, Miss.The $2.2 billion-asset BankFirst said in a press release Thursday that it will pay an undisclosed cash amount for the $331 million-asset Mechanics. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter. "We are excited about … expanding our footprint in the Water Valley and Oxford markets,” Moak Griffin, BankFirst’s president and CEO, said in

Horicon Bank in Horicon, Wis., has a new president with a familiar name. The $1.2 billion-asset bank named Fred C. Schwertfeger to succeed his father, Frederick F. Schwertfeger, according to multiple news outlets. The elder Schwertfeger remains CEO.Horicon is a unit of Sword Financial. The younger Schwertfeger, who previously was chief strategy officer, serves on the board of the bank and the holding company. “I’m humbled by the responsibility the board asked of

Primis Financial in McLean, Va., has formed a partnership to provide financial services to members of the American Academy of Periodontology. The $3.2 billion-asset Primis said in a press release that Panacea Financial, a division formed to serve physicians, dentists and veterinarians, will have access to the AAP's more than 7,500 members.Periodontists specialize in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of inflammatory diseases that affect the gums and supporting structures of the

The BHB BaaS Association has its first chairman.The Austin, Texas, group formed by Bankers Helping Bankers earlier this year to focus on Banking-as-a-Service providers, said in a press release Wednesday that Robert Keil had accepted the role. Keil, chief payments officer at Sutton Bank, leads the Attica, Ohio, bank’s BaaS efforts. He previously worked at Fiserv, where he focused on fintechs and emerging payments.“Community banking is experiencing a number of challenges,”

Associated Banc-Corp. in Green Bay, Wis., plans to close 13 branches in two states. The $37.2 billion-asset company plans to shutter six locations in Illinois and seven in northwest Wisconsin on Nov. 18, several media publications reported. Six of the offices are in-store branches, with five in Festival Foods stores and one inside a Piggly Wiggly.The branches represent about 6% of the company’s overall network, based on June 2021 data from the

High Plains Bank in Okeene, Okla., has agreed to buy a branch in Oklahoma from Equity Bancshares in Wichita, Kan. The $5 billion-asset Equity said in a press release that it is selling its location in Cordell to the $160 million-asset High Plains. The sale is expected to close by Dec. 31. The price wasn’t disclosed. The branch has about $20 million of deposits. “Our focus as a community bank is our customers, and

Cornerstone Home Lending has received regulatory approval to buy Roscoe State Bank in Roscoe, Texas.The mortgage lender said in a Wednesday press release that it expects to buy the $226 million-asset Roscoe on or around Oct. 1. Cornerstone Capital Bank will have more than $380 million of capital and roughly $1.5 billion of assets. The bank will have three business segments: mortgage lending and servicing, commercial and retail banking and institutional