SmartFinancial in Knoxville, Tenn., has hired a team of bankers to enter Nashville, Tenn. The $4.4 billion-asset company said in a press release Monday that it had recruited two bankers from Triumph Bank, along with a lender from Reliant Bank, to pursue commercial and consumer relationships in Nashville. Rachael Meurrier, formerly with Triumph, will become SmartBank’s Williamson County market executive. Tony Graves, who had been at Reliant, will be a senior

National Bank Holdings in Denver is working on a digital platform for small and midsize businesses. The $7.1 billion-asset company provided details in an investor presentation for 2UniFi, a platform that it said would increase businesses’ access to the banking system, reduce costs and save time, and increase access to actionable and real-time information.  The presentation, which did not provide a timeline for introducing the platform, said 2UniFi will offer clients

A proposed de novo has a new name and a high-profile addition to its board. Organizers of ConNext Bank submitted a new application to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Monday for deposit insurance. The group, which originally filed with the FDIC in June 2020, originally intended to call the de novo NewBank with a plan to base the financial institution in New York. The de novo, which would operate as a unit

Blue Foundry Bancorp in Rutherford, N.J., said it will recognize a $2 million charge in the fourth quarter tied to its exit from a defined-benefit plan.The $2 billion-asset company said in a regulatory filing Wednesday that it had decided in August to withdraw from the tax-qualified, multiple-employer defined benefit pension plan. The move was authorized, effective Sept. 30. The company recognized a $9.2 million charge in the third quarter tied to

A group in Irvine, Calif., is looking to form a minority depository institution.Organizers applied with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Nov. 18 for Bank Irvine. The proposed bank, which will primarily work with the Chinese-American community in Orange and Los Angeles counties, is looking to become an MDI. The proposed bank “will be a commercial bank focused on providing traditional banking products and services to local small- and medium-size businesses,

Groups in California and Delaware have applied for deposit insurance.ConNext Bank would be based in Wilmington, Del., according to a notice from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Organizers are going for a national bank charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.Separately, a group in Southern California has applied for deposit insurance for Bank Irvine. The applications were not immediately available.

KeyCorp in Cleveland has acquired XUP Payments, a B2B-focused digital platform. The $187 billion-asset KeyCorp, which did not disclose the price it paid, said it will use XUP’s payments-related technology to improve the experience of its commercial products. XUP, a software developer, has built integrations with processors, third-party risk tools, customer relationship management systems and other fintech services.KeyCorp initially partnered with XUP in early 2020 on a project to upgrade its

First National of Nebraska in Omaha has agreed to buy Western States BanCorp. in Laramie, Wyo.The $25.8 billion-asset First National said in a press release Monday that it expects to complete the purchase of the $542 million-asset Western States in the first quarter. First National did not disclose the price it will pay.Western States 10 branches and $486 million of deposits across southeast Wyoming, northeast Colorado and the Nebraska panhandle.First