Peoples Bancorp in Marietta, Ohio, has agreed to buy Citizens National in Paintsville, Ky. The $9.6 billion-asset Peoples said in a press release that it will pay $76.6 million in cash and stock for the $686 million-asset Citizens. The deal, which is expected to close in the second half of this year, priced Citizens at 118% of its tangible book value. Citizens has 12 branches, $342 million in loans, and

United Community Banks in Greenville, S.C., agreed to buy Peach State Bancshares in Gainesville, Ga. The $28.2 billion-asset United said in a press release that it will pay $100.8 million in cash and stock for the $788 million-asset Peach State. The deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter, priced Peach State at 194% of its tangible book value. Peach State has $498 million in loans and $713

Mission Lane has applied to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to open a credit card bank. The credit card fintech aims to open Mission Lane Bank, which would operate under limitations that apply to credit card banks under the Competitive Equality in Banking Act of 1987. The proposed bank would engage only in credit card operations, would not accept demand deposits or deposits withdrawable by check, would

A group is looking to form a national bank to offer traditional banking with blockchain infrastructure. The proposed OpenReserve Bank would offer lending, deposit, stablecoin, digital treasury, card issuance, payment, and settlement services, according to an application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The group, which is seeking deposit insurance from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., would operate out of Salt Lake City. OpenReserve also plans to

Federal Savings Bank in Chicago is dealing with a consent order from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency tied to alleged deceptive advertising to veterans. The OCC alleged that the $1.1 billion-asset bank instructed millions of consumers to contact the bank because they had “available funds.” The ad turned out to be a solicitation for a Department of Veterans Affairs cash-out refinance loan that required consumers to access

Community Bank and Trust - West Georgia in LaGrange has entered into a cease-and-desist order with the Federal Reserve. The C&D order instructs the $288 million-asset bank to improve board oversight, strengthen its senior management, and consider raising capital. The bank, which has been dealing with credit-quality issues, formed Phoenix Lender Services, a government-guaranteed lending division, last year. The bank's ratio of nonperforming assets to total loans topped 10% at

Southern First Bancshares in Greenville, S.C., plans to raise up to $65.2 million through a public offering of common stock. The company said in a press release that it plans to sell nearly 1.1 million shares of stock at $54 each. Another 157,500 shares could be sold if there is enough demand. The proceeds of the offering will be used for a range of purposes that could include supporting organic

OpenAI acquired personal finance fintech Hiro. Hiro announced the sale on its website. The price wasn't disclosed. The Hiro application will shut down on April 20. Users can export data through settings until May 13. “For decades, personalized financial guidance has been too expensive, too generic, or too hard to access. ChatGPT is finally changing that,” Hiro founder Ethan Bloch wrote on LinkedIn.