Strategic Insights into Banking & Fintech

ConnectOne earnings dip due to planned multifamily loan sale.

ConnectOne earnings dip due to planned multifamily loan sale.

ConnectOne Bancorp in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., reported lower quarterly profit after agreeing to sell a pool of multifamily loans. The $14.8 billion-asset company said in a press release that its third-quarter earnings fell 24% from a year earlier, to $29.9 million. The company plans to sell up to $750 million in unpaid principal balance of non-relationship multifamily loans to an unnamed buyer. The transaction is expected to close this month.

October 22, 2026
Kearny in N.J. forms nonprofit banking team as deposit-gathering strategy

Kearny in N.J. forms nonprofit banking team as deposit-gathering strategy

Kearny Financial in Fairfield, N.J., created a new business line to collect deposits. The $7.8 billion-asset company said in a press release that, during the third quarter, it formed a nonprofit and independent education banking team. "This initiative broadens access to attractive relationship-based funding sources and further diversifies our deposit franchise," Craig Montanaro, Kearny's president and CEO, said in the release. The company also said its quarterly earnings rose by

October 22, 2026
Plains State in Texas to buy First National Bank of Lake Jackson

Plains State in Texas to buy First National Bank of Lake Jackson

Plains State Bank in Humble, Texas, has agreed to buy Austin Colony in Lake Jackson, Texas. Austin Colony is the holding company for the $218.4 million-asset First National Bank of Lake Jackson. Plains State Bank has $828.4 million in assets. The price wasn't disclosed.  Performance Trust Capital Partners advised Austin Colony.

October 21, 2026
Fresno bankers file to launch California Standard Bank

Fresno bankers file to launch California Standard Bank

A group of Fresno bankers and business leaders has applied to open California Standard Bank. The organizers, in their application with the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., said the proposed California Standard would be a traditional business bank, lending to small and midsize businesses, agricultural operations, professionals, and commercial real estate owners and investors. Kevin Williams would be president and CEO. He

October 21, 2026
Northpointe in Mich. to sell certain mortgage ops to CMG Financial

Northpointe in Mich. to sell certain mortgage ops to CMG Financial

Northpointe Bancshares in Grand Rapids, Mich., has agreed to sell its direct mortgage origination channels to CMG Financial. The $7.7 billion-asset Northpointe said in a press release that the sale will include its distributed retail and consumer direct mortgage origination channels. The sale is expected to close by the end of this year; pricing wasn't disclosed. “Given today’s economic and operating environment, and the continued evolution of the mortgage distribution

October 20, 2026
Cross River parent to buy customer loyalty fintech Accrue

Cross River parent to buy customer loyalty fintech Accrue

CRB Group, the parent company of Cross River Bank in Fort Lee, N.J., has agreed to buy customer loyalty fintech Accrue. Cross River did not disclose the price it will pay. “Payments and loyalty are becoming one,” Gilles Gade, Cross River's founder and CEO, said in the press release. “Every brand wants its own wallet, and with Accrue, all of our clients can now build one on our platform. We

October 20, 2026
Home in Louisiana taps long-time insider to become next CEO

Home in Louisiana taps long-time insider to become next CEO

Home Bancorp in Lafayette, La., will begin 2027 with a new CEO. The $3.6 billion-asset company said in a press release that John Bordelon will retire on Jan. 8. He will remain chairman. Darren Guidry will become CEO and remain president. He has been at Home since 1993. “We extend our sincere appreciation to John for his extraordinary leadership, dedication, and lasting contributions over more than four decades of service,”

October 20, 2026
Fintech Ramp seeks national trust bank charter, buys Vesto

Fintech Ramp seeks national trust bank charter, buys Vesto

Ramp has applied for a national trust bank charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The expense management fintech said in a LinkedIn post that the proposed Ramp National Trust Bank would offer "fiduciary investment management and custody of digital assets." The planned trust bank "would bring these services under a consistent federal regulatory framework." Katrina Holt, a former president and CEO of Pitney Bowes Bank, posted

October 20, 2026