Amerant Bancorp in Coral Gables, Fla., will enter the Tampa, Fla., market after hiring a team of bankers. The $7.8 billion-asset company said in a press release Thursday that the group will be led by Jason Russek, who was named market president. He previously served as a regional director of commercial banking at BankUnited, according to his LinkedIn profile. Russek will oversee a team of six commercial bankers. The office will

Atlantic Union Bankshares in Richmond, Va., has added a banking veteran to its board. The $19.8 billion-asset company said in a press release Thursday that Rilla Delorier had become a director, effective immediately. Delorier recently served as chief strategy and digital transformation officer at Umpqua Bank. She serves on the boards of Nymbus and Coastal Community Bank in Everett, Wash. Delorier “has an extensive background in multiple banking disciplines, including marketing, technology and

VersaBank in London, Ontario, has agreed to buy Stearns Bank Holdingford in Holdingford, Minn.The $2.1 billion-asset Canadian bank said in a press release that it will pay $13.5 million to Stearns Financial Services for the $60 million-asset Stearns. The deal is expected to close by Oct. 31. Stearns Financial would retain its Stearns Bank and Stearns Bank Upsala subsidiaries.VersaBank said that buying Stearns, a national bank regulated by the Office of

Zions Bancorp. in Salt Lake City is the latest bank to rein in overdraft and nonsufficient funds (NSF) fees.The $91 billion-asset company said in a press release that the changes, which will take place on July 13, include the elimination of a continuing overdraft fee and the end of NSF fees for items that are returned unpaid because of nonsufficient funds.Zions plans to reduce the NSF fee by more than

A group of legislators led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., wants the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to reject TD Bank Group’s planned purchase of First Horizon in Memphis, Tenn. The lawmakers, which include Reps. Katie Porter, D-Calif., Al Green, D-Texas, and Jesus Garcia, D-Ill., are citing a May 4 report that claimed the Canadian bank had similar incentives to those tied to the fake-accounts scandal at Wells Fargo. “As

M&T Bank in Buffalo, N.Y., announced that its president will retire. The $149.9 billion-asset company said in a press release Thursday that Rich Gold will also step down as chief operating officer, effective after the first quarter of 2023. He will remain on the board. “It’s difficult to overstate Rich’s impact on our company, said René Jones, M&T’s chairman and CEO, said in the release.  “It has been his life’s work

VyStar Credit Union in Jacksonville, Fla., and Heritage Southeast Bancorp. have terminated VyStar’s planned acquisition of Heritage Southeast Bank in Jonesboro, Ga., after failing to secure regulatory approval. The $12 billion-asset VyStar and the $1.7 billion-asset Heritage Southeast were nearing a June 30 closing deadline. The parties had repeatedly extended the deadline. “After much contemplation and discussion, the [boards] of both institutions concluded the best path forward would be to discontinue the

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in Archbold, Ohio, has agreed to buy Peoples-Sidney Financial in Sidney, Ohio. The $2.6 billion-asset F&M said in a press release Tuesday that it will pay $27 million in cash and stock for the $133 million-asset parent of Peoples Federal Savings and Loan Association. The deal, which is expected to close in the third or fourth quarter, priced Peoples-Sidney at 175% of its tangible book value.Peoples has