Northeast Bank in Portland, Maine, is raising $75 million by selling common stock. The $3.9 billion-asset bank said in a press release that it is conducting an at-the-marketing offering through Piper Sandler and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. Northeast said it plans to use the net proceeds for general corporate purposes, including support of additional growth.

Independent Bank Corp. in Rockland, Mass., has agreed to buy Enterprise Bancorp in Lowell, Mass. The $20 billion-asset Independent said in a press release that it will pay $562 million in cash and stock for the $4.7 billion-asset Enterprise. The deal, which is expected to close in the second half of 2025, priced Enterprise at 155% of its tangible book value. Independent plans to raise about $250 million by issuing

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has filed a lawsuit against Comerica for alleged deficiencies related to the Dallas company's administration of the Direct Express program. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, claims that the $71.8 billion-asset Comerica deliberately disconnected customer service calls, charged illegal ATM fees, and mishandled customer complaints, among other things. The CFBP wants a judge to order Comerica to end those

Altos Bank has opened in Los Altos, Calif. The de novo opened on Nov. 25, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Organizers were required to raise $25 million before opening. Tom Vertin, former president and CEO of Golden State Bank, is Altos Bank’s CEO. Four new banks have opened this year: Altos; Nova Bank in Huntsville, Ala.; Integrity Bank in Houston; and Four States Bank in Carthage, Mo.

Elemi Bank, a de novo proposed for Encino, Calif., has secured conditional approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The proposed bank's organizers applied with the FDIC late last year. The agency is requiring organizers to raise $25 million before the bank can open. The proposed bank would be state-chartered and focus on small and midsize companies and their owners, business professionals and real estate owners, and investors, according to

Fiserv CEO Frank Bisignano was selected by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as commissioner of the Social Security Administration. Bisignano, who is also Fiserv's chairman and president, would need Senate confirmation before taking on the role. Fiserv said he will remain its leader until confirmation occurs, adding that it has "an established, long-term succession plan." "I am honored to have this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to serve my country," Bisignano said in

Columbia Financial in Fair Lawn, N.J. has repositioned its balance sheet at a pretax loss of about $38 million. The $10.7 billion-asset company said in a press release that it sold about $321 million of available-for-sale debt securities that were mostly purchased during the pandemic. Proceeds were used to fund $85 million of loan growth, buy $66 million of higher-yielding debt securities and prepay $170 million of higher-cost borrowings. The

The Clearing House will increase the individual transaction limit for the RTP Network from $1 million to $10 million. The group said in a press release that the higher limit will support network growth in areas such as real estate, supply chain payments and business-to-business transactions that require larger transaction amounts. The higher limit will become effective on Feb. 9. The last time the RTP transaction limit was raised occurred