Strategic Insights into Banking & Fintech

Chime files for IPO, reports rising revenue and 1Q profit

Chime files for IPO, reports rising revenue and 1Q profit

Digital banking platform Chime Financial filed its registration statement for its anticipated initial public offering. The filing does not provide insight into how many shares Chime plans to sell or the pricing. It does, however, mark a significant milestone for the fintech, which is fighting towards breakeven. Chime, which generates the vast majority of its revenue from interchange fees, reported $12.9 million of net income in the first quarter, and

May 13, 2025
Robinhood to buy Canadian crypto trading platform WonderFi

Robinhood to buy Canadian crypto trading platform WonderFi

Robinhood has agreed to buy decentralized trading platform WonderFi in Vancouver, Canada. The digital stock brokerage app said in a press release that it will pay $178.6 million for the Canadian company. The deal is expected to close in the second half of this year. WonderFi, which operates regulated cryptocurrency trading platforms Bitbuy and Coinsquare, was founded in 2021 to help democratize access to digital assets. WonderFi processed more than

May 13, 2025
Embassy in Penn. fighting shareholder proposal to sell bank

Embassy in Penn. fighting shareholder proposal to sell bank

Embassy Bancorp in Bethleham, Pa., is facing a shareholder proposal to find a buyer. The $1.7 billion-asset Embassy disclosed in its proxy statement that the investor, who has a roughly 0.2% stake, claims the company is underperforming and has taken issue with a corporate lease agreement with an entity that includes directors and executives among its owners. The shareholder that Embassy’s 0.61% return on assets is suboptimal and reflects a

May 13, 2025
Ponce Financial applies for BHC in plan to switch to having national bank

Ponce Financial applies for BHC in plan to switch to having national bank

Ponce Financial Group in Bronx, N.Y., plans to become a bank holding company so its bank can receive a national charter. The $tk billion-asset company noted in a regulatory filing that Ponce Bank is currently a federally chartered stock savings association. While the company said it does not expect any material changes in its core business, it said the conversion will allow its bank to receive municipal deposits.

May 13, 2025
First Northwest in Wash. posts 1Q loss after credit issues, legal reserve

First Northwest in Wash. posts 1Q loss after credit issues, legal reserve

First Northwest Bancorp in Port Angeles, Wash., reported a quarterly loss that reflected credit issues and a legal reserve tied to litigation with a borrower group. The $2.2 billion-asset company said in a press release that it lost $9 million in the first quarter, an increase from its $2.8 million loss a quarter earlier. The company earned $396,000 a year earlier. First Northwest said the results included a $5.8 million

May 13, 2025
American Bancorp in Ga. raises $18 million via private placement

American Bancorp in Ga. raises $18 million via private placement

American Bancorp in Atlanta, which just announced its new CEO, has raised capital. The $540 million-asset bank brought in $18 million on May 7 through a private placement, according to data compiled by Performance Trust Capital Partners. No other details were immediately available. The bank recently announced that Dominik Mjartan had become its leader. He joined American from Optus Bank in South Carolina, where he was president and CEO.

May 12, 2025
Chickasaw Banc Holding to buy Oklahoma Heritage Bank

Chickasaw Banc Holding to buy Oklahoma Heritage Bank

Chickasaw Banc Holding in Oklahoma City has agreed to buy Oklahoma Heritage Bank in Ada. The parent of the $470 million-asset Chickasaw Community Bank did not disclose how much it will pay for the $100 million asset Oklahoma Heritage. The deal is expected to close in the second or third quarter. Chickasaw is a tribal-owned bank, while Oklahoma Heritage is owned by the family of Dr. Darryl Fisher.

May 9, 2025
Prematurely posted N.Y. bank application removed from FDIC’s system

Prematurely posted N.Y. bank application removed from FDIC’s system

An application for a proposed bank in New York has been removed. Organizers of the planned American Innovation Bank in Flushing, N.Y., submitted an application with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The FDIC, in response to a request for the application, said the document was "removed from the system" because it was a draft. "When a formal application is received, it will be set up [in] the system again and

May 7, 2025