Crypto.com is the latest digital assets company to apply for a national trust bank charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Crypto.com said in a press release that it is pursuing the charter to advance its custody technology and related customer offerings, including custody and staking of assets across blockchains and digital asset protocols. “Building the Crypto.com product and service portfolio through regulated and secure offerings has

Evolve Bank & Trust in West Memphis, Ark., fired CEO Bob Hartheimer after he was arrested on two child pornography-related charges. The bank said in a statement that Mark Mosteller, its president and chief financial officer, and Joelle Weltzin, its general counsel, will oversee operations and strategic direction. They had those roles before Hartheimer was hired in August. "We remain confident in the strength of our leadership, the stability of

Paulson Capital Holding in Portland, Ore., bought JWTT, an investment bank and broker-dealer that specializes in the community banking sector. JWTT has more than $470 million in customer assets. The price wasn't disclosed. "We are pleased to announce the acquisition of JWTT ... and look forward to committing resources to building on the expertise of its principals to expand JWTT's already significant impact in the community banking space," Trent Davis,

A trio of banking companies disclosed securities sales. Avidbank Holdings in San Jose, Calif., said that a securities sale contributed to its $37.7 million third-quarter loss. The $2.4 billion-asset company sold $274.7 million of securities at a $62.4 million loss. The company purchased $163.2 million in higher-yielding securities and paid off short-term borrowings using proceeds from its initial public offering and securities sales. CB Financial Services in Washington, Pa., lost $5.7 million in

Metropolitan Bank Holding in New York reported lower quarterly profit that reflected costs tied to an out-of-market commercial real estate loan. The $8.2 billion-asset company said in a press release that its third-quarter profit fell by 42% from a year earlier, to $7.1 million. The quarter included a $23.9 million loan-loss provision that included $18.7 million for the CRE multifamily loan relationship. The CRE relationship was the reason why the

Origin Bancorp in Ruston, La., reported significantly lower quarterly earnings due to its exposure to TriColor Holdings. The $9.8 billion-asset company said in a press release that its third-quarter profit fell 54% from a year earlier, to $8.6 milli0n. The quarter included a $36.8 million loan-loss provision that "was primarily related to the suspected borrower fraud impacting" the loan relationship with Tricolor. The quarter included $28.4 million net chargeoffs tied

Nicolet Bankshares in Green Bay, Wis., has agreed to buy MidWestOne Financial Group in Iowa City. The $9.5 billion-asset Nicolet said in a press release that it will pay $864 million in stock for the $6.2 billion-asset MidWestOne. The deal, which is expected to close in the first half of next year, priced MidWestOne at 166% of its tangible book value. "We view the people at MidWestOne as true kindred

Community First Credit Union of Florida in Jacksonville has invested in Digital Assets Service Organization,  Frement, Calif., credit union service organization. The $2.8 billion-asset credit union did not disclose the size of its investment. The CUSO plans to use the proceeds to enhance its credit union automation platform to an agentic platform. "By partnering with DASO, we’re empowering our credit union to leverage automation intelligence agents to streamline operations, reduce