Strategic Insights into Banking & Fintech

BayFirst closes three mortgage-origination offices

BayFirst closes three mortgage-origination offices

BayFirst Financial in St. Petersburg, Fla., has closed three mortgage offices after shutting down its primary consumer direct mortgage business. The $889 million-asset company said in a regulatory filing Wednesday that the closure was part of a broader restructuring of its residential mortgage division. BayFirst closed residential loan production offices in Overland Park, Kan.; New Albany, Ohio; and Tampa, Fla. The restructure reflects "reduced volume due to a lack of refinance demand

May 19, 2022
Proposed Arizona de novo gets state approval

Proposed Arizona de novo gets state approval

Organizers of the proposed Integro Bank in Phoenix have received conditional approval from the State of Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Services. The group must raise at least $27.9 million in capital. The effort also needs approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to obtain deposit insurance. "With this state regulatory approval representing a major milestone, our team is now focused on collecting the remaining funds from our investor pipeline so that

May 18, 2022
Hearings set for deals involving Canadian acquirers

Hearings set for deals involving Canadian acquirers

The Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency will hold public hearings on BMO Financial’s planned acquisition of Bank of the West and TD Bank’s proposed purchase of First Horizon.The hearing for the $16 billion merger of BMO and Bank of the West is set for July 14, while the hearing for the $13.4 billion combination of TD Bank and First Horizon will take place on

May 18, 2022
CSBS President/CEO John Ryan dies unexpectedly

CSBS President/CEO John Ryan dies unexpectedly

John Ryan, president and CEO of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, has died. The organization, which represents state banking regulators, said in a statement Tuesday that Ryan passed away unexpectedly the day before. James Cooper, executive vice president of policy and supervision, was named acting CEO. “On behalf of the CSBS board of directors, executive team, staff and membership, we extend our deepest sympathies to John’s family and everyone who knew and

May 17, 2022
CBTX, Allegiance to rebrand as Stellar after merger

CBTX, Allegiance to rebrand as Stellar after merger

CBTX and Allegiance Bancshares in Houston will rebrand as Stellar Bancorp following their merger. The $4.5 billion-asset CBTX and the $7.2 billion-asset Allegiance announced their proposed merger in November. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter. The bank will be known as Stellar Bank. "When we heard the name Stellar, it fit,” Robert Franklin Jr., CBTX’s chairman, CEO and president, said in a Tuesday press release.  “We are in a

May 17, 2022
Emclaire had two offers before striking deal with Farmers

Emclaire had two offers before striking deal with Farmers

Farmers National Banc Corp. in Canfield, Ohio, was one of two banks to make an offer for Emclaire Financial in Emlenton, Pa. The $4.1 billion-asset Farmers agreed in late March to buy the $1.1 billion-asset Emclaire for $105 million. The move will provide Farmers with its first branches in Pittsburgh. Farmers easily cemented its position when its initial bid topped that of the other suitor by 20%, according to a regulatory filing

May 17, 2022
RBB vice chairman resigns over governance dispute

RBB vice chairman resigns over governance dispute

RBB Bancorp in Los Angeles, which replaced its CEO after a probe found violations of company policies, is facing criticism from its former vice chairman.Raymond Yu resigned from the $4.2 billion-asset company last week. In his resignation letter, Yu said he was leaving due to "ongoing disagreements with the board regarding corporate governance and other matters."Yu, who had been vice chairman since 2018, claimed that “historical and potentially current conflicts

May 16, 2022
U.S. Bancorp moves deadline for buying MUFG Union

U.S. Bancorp moves deadline for buying MUFG Union

U.S. Bancorp in Minneapolis has confirmed that it will not complete its planned purchase of MUFG Union Bank along the timeline it originally provided.  The $586 billion-asset company said when it announced the $8 billion acquisition in September that it expected to complete the acquisition by June 30.  U.S. Bancorp said in a regulatory filing Monday that it “no longer expects to receive U.S. regulatory approvals in time to allow for closing to

May 16, 2022