Alerus Financial in Grand Forks, N.D., restructured its securities portfolio. The company said in a press release that it sold $360 million of securities, or more than two-thirds of its available-for-sale securities, at a $68.5 million pretax loss. Alerus reinvested the proceeds into higher-yielding securities. “Our focus in 2025 was to lower risk and improve returns without compromising our long-term strategy," Katie Lorenson, the company's president and CEO, said in

Credicorp, Peru's biggest bank, has agreed to buy Helm Bank USA in Miami. Credicorp said in a press release that its Banco de Crédito del Perú unit will pay $180 million for the $1.1 billion-asset Helm Bank. “This acquisition allows us to deepen our ability to serve Latin Americans whose financial lives span both their home countries and the United States,” Gianfranco Ferrari, Credicorp's CEO, said in the release. “We believe

Alpine Banks of Colorado in Glenwood Springs has a new CEO. The $6.8 billion-asset company said in a press release that Glen Jammaron had also become its chairman. Jammaron, who was president and vice chairman, succeeds Bob Young, who passed away on Dec. 11. “I am honored to continue the incredible legacy that Bob built for Alpine Bank,” Jammaron said in the release. “We anticipate that our focus will remain

Joe Face is set to retire as Commissioner of Virginia's Bureau of Financial Institutions. Face, who took over the role in 1997, will step down next month. Dustin Physioc, who has nearly two decades of experience with the bureau, will succeed Face on Jan. 25.

Peoples Financial Services in Moosic, Pa., repositioned its securities portfolio. The company disclosed in a regulatory filing that it sold $78.6 million of lower-yielding securities at a nearly $1.9 million after-tax loss. Net proceeds were used to buy higher-yielding assets, including U.S. agency mortgage-backed securities and discounted tax-exempt municipal bonds. The moves are expected to increase interest income from the securities portfolio by about $2.8 million over the next 12 months.

A group in Dallas has applied to open a bank. Organizers of the proposed Augustus National Bank have applied to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The application wasn't immediately available. The public notice filed in connection with the application listed six organizers. Three members of the group — Julius Ahr , Ferdinand Dabitz and Simon Wimmer — are based in Germany.

Coinbax has raised $4.2 million in seed funding. The stablecoin-focused payments fintech announced that the round was led by BankTech Ventures, with participation from Connecticut Innovations, Paxos, SpringTime Ventures, and other banking and payments industry leaders. The capital will support engineering development, infrastructure integrations and design partner onboarding. “Within the next three years, every bank account will have a wallet. Stablecoins and tokenized deposits will become part of every bank’s core

Overbrook Bankshares in Overbrook, Kan., has agreed to buy Norcon Financial in Conway Springs, Kan. Overbrook, the parent of the $100 million-asset First Security Bank, said in a press release that it plans to buy the holding company for the $125 million-asset Conway Bank in the first half of next year. The price wasn't disclosed. "The team at Conway Bank has done an excellent job building relationships with their clients