Vine Financial in Austin, Texas, has secured seed funding and created a board of directors. The fintech, which uses AI tools to make commercial lending faster, more accurate, and more auditable, did not disclose how much money it raised. The funding will fuel Vine’s growth and expand its ability to provide an alternative to traditional spreadsheets and legacy systems. The company will also expand the platform’s capabilities to improve how

GrailPay, a risk and data platform for bank payments, raised $6.7 million in funding. The fintech said in a press release that the funding round was led by Construct Capital and included Commerce Ventures, Broadhaven Ventures, Soma Capital, and Grasshopper Bank. The company's initial funding round was led by Noemis Ventures. GrailPay is pioneering a modern intelligence platform designed to detect and prevent risk across the ACH lifecycle, before transactions

FSB Financial in New Madison, Ohio, has applied to buy Republic Banking Co. in Republic, Ohio. FSB, the parent of the $246 million-asset Farmers State Bank, applied with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on June 11 to buy the $60 million-asset Republic Bank. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter; the price wasn't disclosed. Republic shares "our core community banking philosophy: empowered local management and employees dedicated

Ken Moelis is stepping down as CEO of the investment bank he co-founded. Moelis & Co. in New York said in a press release that Moelis, who has led the firm since 2007, will step down and become executive chairman on Oct. 1. Navid Mahmoodzadegan, the firm's co-founder and co-president, will become the CEO and join the board, while Jeff Raich, co-founder and co-president, will become executive vice chairman and

Newburyport Bank in Newburyport, Mass., has a new president. The $1.6 billion-asset mutual said in a press release that Jim McCarthy will also become its chief operating officer on June 28. McCarthy, a member of the bank's board, was chairman, president, and CEO of First Ipswich Bank “Jim is a seasoned and respected leader who understands both the opportunities and the complexities of modern banking,” Lloyd Hamm, president and CEO

CoastalSouth Bancshares in Hilton Head, S.C., is planning to sell common stock. The $2.2 billion-asset company's registration statement will also allow certain shareholders to sell shares. The number of shares and pricing were not included. CoastalSouth said that proceeds from the shares it sells will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes that could include supporting our organic growth, funding acquisitions, branch expansion, and repaying debt. The filing

Main Street Financial in Wooster, Ohio, has parted ways with its CEO. The $1.4 billion-asset company said in a press release that it terminated the employment of Jay VanSickle II without cause, effective June 3. VanSickle was also removed from the company's board. Mark Witmer, the company's executive chairman, was named president and CEO. VanSickle was CEO of Wayne Savings Bancshares when it merged with Main Street in May 2024.

Commerce Bancorp in Greenwood, Miss., has applied to buy Holmes County Corp. in Lexington, Miss. The parent of the $983 million-asset Bank of Commerce applied with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on June 5 to acquire the $154 million-asset Holmes County Bank. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter. The price wasn't disclosed. “Holmes County Bank is the perfect merger partner for Bank of Commerce,” Bryan Thornhill,