PNC Financial Services Group in Pittsburgh will convert about 60% of its branches to an automated model over the next five years. The $552 billion-asset company said the model will use technology to replace teller windows. The branches will also emphasize financial advice, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The branches, for instance, will have video banking machines that connect customers to live tellers when assistance is needed with more complicated transactions. Roughly 30

Savi Financial in Mount Vernon, Wash., is planning a complicated process to form a de novo and become a multibank holding company. The parent of the $494 million-asset SaviBank detailed its plan in an application with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for deposit insurance for Orca Bank. Savi plans to raise $1 million from Orca organizers and directors, selling about 91,000 shares at $11 each, and contribute another $14 million of

Republic Bancorp in Louisville, Ky., plans to invest $5 million in tech startups after creating an incubator program. The $6.3 billion-asset company plans to launch its BankTech Incubator to back technology companies that complement its strategic goals. To qualify, companies must have an existing or planned strategic relationship with the bank. Republic’s investment committee represents a wide variety of employees representing key areas across the bank. The bank has not yet made

Beach Bancorp in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., made overtures to more than a dozen credit unions before agreeing to sell to First Bancshares in Hattiesburg, Miss.The $6.2 billion-asset First agreed to buy the $620 million-asset Beach in April for $117 million. Months earlier, Beach, through its investment bank, contacted 16 potential credit union buyers as part of its sales process, according to a regulatory filing tied to the pending acquisition. Though seven

Ponce Financial Group in Bronx, N.Y., has reshuffled its executive ranks.The $1.7 billion-asset company said in a press release Tuesday that it had hired Sergio Vaccaro as its chief financial officer, effective June 1. Vaccarro previously served as CFO of Private Bank Americas at HSBC. Vaccaro will succeed Frank Perez, who will become Ponce’s chief investor relations officer. “We are grateful to Frank for his leadership in our mutual-to-stock conversion efforts,”

PNC Financial Services Group in Pittsburgh will soon have a new head of retail banking. The $552 billion-asset company said in a press release that Alex Overstrom will take over the post on July 1. He will succeed Karen Larrimer, who is retiring. Larrimer has led retail banking at PNC since July 2016. She has overseen the company’s digital expansion, several rebranding efforts and the creation of solution centers in expansion markets. Overstrom,

BancCentral in Alva, Okla., is selling its only branches in Kansas to Plains Bancshares in Plains, Kan.The parent of the $295 million-asset Plains State Bank will gain two locations in Harper County in a deal expected to close this fall. The price was not disclosed. The branches had $131.7 million of deposits in mid-2021, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Plains bought Bank VI in Salina, Kan., in 2018.

First Financial in Cincinnati is the latest bank to announce plans to address overdraft fees. The $16 billion-asset company said in a press release that it will take a series of steps, beginning on June 1, to eliminate or reduce fees.  The company said it will eliminate nonsufficient funds fees when an item is returned unpaid and notification fees when an account remains overdrawn. Other fees will be reduced. "We understand