Ed Najarian, a veteran banking analyst, has ended an extended break to join EF Hutton. EF Hutton, a division of Benchmark Investments, said in a press release that Najarian was named senior managing director of its equity research department. “Building a top-tier research platform has been a key priority for the management team at EF Hutto,” CEO Joseph Rallo said in the release. “We welcome Ed Najarian as a highly

Signature Bank in New York is the latest bank to clarify its ties to FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange that recently filed for bankruptcy protection. The $114.5 billion-asset Signature said in a press release that FTX and related companies account for less than 0.1% of its overall deposits on Nov. 14. Signature had $102.8 billion of deposits at the end of the third quarter. Signature noted that it does not lend

California BanCorp in Oakland has created a specialty lending division. The parent of the $1.9 billion-asset California Bank of Commerce said in a press release that CBC Specialty Banking includes asset-based lending and sponsor finance products. The nationwide platform will also offer treasury solutions to commercial clients. Larry LaCroix, an executive vice president who formed the bank’s sponsor finance business in 2020, is overseeing the effort. The bank said it

Wintrust Financial in Rosemont, Ill., has agreed to buy two asset management businesses from Rothschild & Co North America. The $52 billion-asset Wintrust said in a press release that its Great Lakes Advisors unit will buy Rothschild & Co Asset Management US and Rothschild & Co Risk Based Investments. The deals are expected to close in the first quarter. The price wasn’t disclosed. The businesses, which have about $8 billion

PL Capital, a well-known activist investor, is seeking regulatory permission to own up to 19.9% of the stock in Evans Bancorp in Williamsville, N.Y. PL Capital disclosed in a regulatory filing that it filed its documents with the Federal Reserve last week. The investor already owns 9.9% of the outstanding shares in the $2.1 billion-asset Evans. The investor said it bought the stock based on a belief the shares were

Silvergate Capital in La Jolla, Calif., said it has no outstanding loans to FTX. The $15.5 billion-asset company also said in a press release Monday that it had no investments in the cryptocurrency exchange, which filed for bankruptcy protection last week. FTX deposits represent less than 10% of the $11.9 billion of deposits belonging to digital asset customers, Alan Lane, Silvergate’s CEO, said in the release. FTX “is not a

The White House plans to nominate Martin Gruenberg to serve as chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. President Biden made the announcement in a Monday press release. Gruenberg has been acting chairman since Jelena McWilliams resigned in February. Gruenberg, who joined the FDIC in 2005, is the longest-serving director in the FDIC’s history and was chairman from November 2012 to June 2018. He also served as acting chairman from

Friendly Hills Bancorp in Whittier, Calif., plans to change the name of its bank. The $306 million-asset company said in a press release Monday that Friendly Hill Bank will be rebranded as First Pacific Bank by the end of this year. The company is also planning a new logo and website. “As we continued to grow and expand our footprint, we knew we needed a name that better demonstrated who