Bank of Hawaii in Honolulu will have a new leader in April. The company said in a press release that Peter Ho will retire as chairman and CEO on March 31.  Ho plans to remain a consultant to the company through the end of 2027. James Polk, the company's president and chief banking officer, will succeed Ho as CEO and join the board. Raymond Vara Jr., president and CEO of

Gateway Bank in Oakland, Calif., raised $16.1 million in a private placement. The bank said in a press release that it sold common stock to institutional and accredited investors. The pricing wasn't disclosed. Proceeds will be used to strengthen regulatory capital ratios and support organic growth and strategic expansion into new Bay Area markets. The capital raise "positions Gateway Bank to accelerate our growth initiatives while staying anchored to what

Banco Santander has agreed to buy Webster Financial in Stamford, Conn. Santander said in a press release that it will pay $12.3 billion in cash and depository shares for the $80 billion-asset Webster. The deal, which is expected to close in the second half of this year, priced Webster at 200% of Webster's tangible book value. “This is an exciting combination that brings together complementary strengths and a shared commitment

Tri-County Bank in Stuart, Neb., has agreed to buy Butte State Bank in Butte, Neb. The merger application was submitted on Jan. 30. The price wasn't disclosed. Butte State was chartered in 1944 and has been owned by three generations of the Brewster family since 1963. The merger "allows the Brewster family heritage to continue providing banking services to the region ... as it has for the past 63 years,"

Beach Cities Commercial Bank in Irvine, Calif., has a new CEO. Thomas Inserra announced his appointment on his LinkedIn account. The bank has $157 million in assets Inserra was president and CEO of Integro Bank in Arizona.

Endeavor Bancorp in San Diego raised $10 million through a private placement. The company said in a press release that it sold nearly 667,000 shares of common stock at $15 each. The initial plan was to raise $8 million, but the offering was oversubscribed. Endeavor plans to use the proceeds to support organic and strategic growth opportunities. “The success of this capital raise is a reflection of the strength of

Varo Bank raised another $123.9 million in capital. The digtal bank, which reported a $91.7 million net loss last year, said in a press release that the funding round was led by existing investor Warburg Pincus along with new investor Coliseum Capital Management. Existing backers, including Northview, also contributed. Alice Milligan, a former chief marketing officer at Morgan Stanley, and Kevin Watters, former division chief executive officer at JPMorgan Chase,

Columbia Financial in Fair Lawn, N.J., has agreed to buy Northfield Bancorp in Woodbridge, N.J. The $11 billion-asset Columbia said in a press release that it will pay $597 million in cash and stock for the $5.7 billion-asset Northfield. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter. In connection with the deal, Columbia plans to conduct a second-step conversion to become a fully stock-owned company. Northfield would merge