The First Bancshares in Hattiesburg, Miss., plans to switch from a national bank charter to a state bank charter.The $5.5 billion-asset company disclosed in a regulatory filing Friday that its bank unit, The First, had filed an application with the Mississippi Department of Banking and Consumer Finance to convert to a state charter.The First also filed a notice with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, its current primary federal

Organizers of Gainey Business Bank in Scottsdale, Ariz., have secured conditional approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.The group must raise $15 million in initial capital before opening, according to the Aug 12 order.Gainey's organizers received approval from the Arizona Department of Financial Institutions in 2018 to start raising capital. They applied with the FDIC in January.Joe Stewart is expected to serve as the bank's president and CEO. He recently

Fairwinds Credit Union in Orlando, Fla., has agreed to buy Citizens Bank of Florida in Oviedo.The $3.9 billion-asset Fairwinds said in a press release Thursday that it plans to complete the purchase of the $489 million-asset Citizens in December. Fairwinds did not disclose the price it will pay.Citizens Bank has six branches in central Florida. Fairwinds said it will hold nearly 10.3% of the deposits in Seminole County after the

First Seacoast Bancorp in Dover, N.H., has agreed to buy a portfolio of wealth management accounts.The $478 million-asset company disclosed in a regulatory filing Tuesday that its bank plans to buy accounts with about $26.3 million of assets under management from an unnamed investment advisory firm.First Seacoast will pay $344,475 for the accounts, with $172,237 to be paid at closing and the rest when the accounts are successfully transferred.First Seacoast

Southern States Bancshares in Anniston, Ala., raised $15.8 million from its initial public offering. The $1.5 billion-asset company said in a press release Monday that it sold more than 996,000 shares of its common stock at $19 a share. The stock has been listed under the symbol “SSBK.”Certain shareholders sold roughly 1 million shares of stock as part of the IPO. Those shareholders included Patriot Financial Partners, EJF Sidecar Fund, EJF

Old Second Bancorp in Aurora, Ill., has added a former executive at TCF Financial to its board.The $3.3 billion-asset company said in a regulatory filing Tuesday that Dennis Klaeser had become a director. He also joined the board of Old Second National Bank.Klaeser served as chief financial officer at TCF from August 2016 to April 2020. Before that, he was CFO at Talmer Bancorp when it was sold to Chemical Financial.TCF

Citizens State Bank in Somerville, Texas, has agreed to buy Burton State Bank in Texas.The $840 million-asset Citizens State said in a press release Monday that the deal for the $85 million-asset Burton State should close later this year. Citizens State did not disclose the price it will pay.Burton State has one branch. Citizens State is “excited about the acquisition … and the opportunities for growth it will provide for

Northeast Bank in Portland, Maine, is planning to ramp up efforts to offer traditional Small Business Administration loans to small businesses that participated in the Paycheck Protection Program.The $2.2 billion-asset bank disclosed in a regulatory filing that it has reached a five-year agreement with United Operations and AmLoan to market 7(a) loans to PPP participants. United will provide the marketing and servicing, while Northeast will underwrite and fund any approved