A group in California is looking to form a bank with a strategy that would include buying indirect auto loans. Carpenter Acquisition Corp. applied with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on May 3 to form Icon Bank in Riverside. Carpenter Acquisition said in the application that it plans to become Icon Bancorp after the bank is formed. Icon would be a full-service bank with branches in Riverside; Orange County, Calif.; and Clark

KeyCorp has acquired a fintech that helps borrowers manage their student loans. The $181.2 billion-asset company said in a press release Monday that it bought GradFin, a Philadelphia company created in 2015. Key did not disclose the price it paid. GradFin specializes in working with financial advisers and their clients. "GradFin combines the best of digital and human interaction to create a unique client experience," Jamie Warder, KeyCorp’s head of digital, said in

U.S. Bancorp in Minneapolis, which is looking to buy MUFG Union Bank, has agreed to a five-year community benefits plan totaling more than $100 billion.The $586 billion-asset company reached the agreement with the National Community Reinvestment Coalition and the California Reinvestment Coalition. About 60% of the total will support efforts in California. “Banks are the economic engines of our communities. As such, we can make meaningful and significant impacts in

Heartland Financial USA in Dubuque, Iowa, has amended its first-quarter earnings to account for two separate instances of fraud that led to “material loan collateral deficiencies.”The $19.2 billion-asset company said in a press release Monday that it discovered the issues after reporting its earnings on April 25. Heartland said the collateral issue led it to increase its first-quarter provision expense by $9 million, which reduced its earnings by 14%, to

Ponce Financial Group in Bronx, N.Y., warned that its first-quarter earnings will be hurt by a “significant write-off and writedown” tied to its relationship with fintech startup Grain Technologies.The $1.7 billion-asset company disclosed in a regulatory filing that Grain had been the victim of cyber fraud. About 25,000 microloans totaling $17 million have been deemed as fraudulent and put back to Grain. As a result, Ponce said it will write-off about

State Street in Boston has a new president and vice chairman. The $322 billion-asset company said in a Monday press release that it had appointed Louis D. Maiuri to serve as president and head of institutional services, effective immediately.  Maiuri, who remains chief operating officer, joined the company in October 2013. He previously served as deputy chief executive officer of asset servicing at BNY Mellon. State Street also named Eric Aboaf as its

National Bank of Coxsackie in New York has formed a new small business lending platform. The $467 million-asset bank said in a press release Saturday that NBC Express lets small businesses apply online for installment loans.  Applications through funding are handled through digital channels. "We understand that time is an invaluable resource to small business owners, and we want to make the process of obtaining a term loan or line of

Citizens Bank of Edmond in Oklahoma has launched a mortgage platform that focuses on VA financing.Jill Castilla, the $370 million-asset bank’s president and CEO, said in a LinkedIn post that the decision to create ROGER came after she and her husband tried to use VA financing to buy a home last year. “We went to work with another (much bigger) bank to get the deal done,” she wrote, adding that