Northwest Bancshares in Columbus, Ohio, has agreed to buy Penns Woods Bancorp in Williamsport, Pa. The $14.4 billion-asset Northwest said in a press release that it will pay $270.4 million in stock for the $2.3 billion-asset Penns Woods. The deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter, priced Penns Woods at 139% of its tangible book value. Penns Woods has 24 branches, $1.7 billion of deposits and $1.9

The Independent Community Bankers of America has selected six fintechs for its latest ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator Program. Participating fintechs will enter a 10-week program that will kick off on Jan. 13. The fintechs are: Coverbase: Automates 90% of third-party risk assessments and lets banks focus on improving security and compliance. Fin3 Technologies: Provides solutions to reduce check fraud and streamline treasury operations. Fintegrate: Integration-as-a-service offering that lowers the costs and

Marathon Bancorp in Wausau, Wis., plans to convert from a mutual to a stock holding company. The $217 million-asset company said in a press release that its mutual holding company, formed in 2021, will cease to exist as part of the second-step conversion. The MHC currently owns about 57.4% of the company's outstanding shares. Eligible account holders as of the close of business on Sept. 30, 2023, have first priority

Flagstar Financial in Hicksville, N.Y., is ending 2024 with its third chief financial officer of this year. The $114.4 billion-asset company said in a press release that Lee Smith would become CFO on Dec. 27. Smith, who was president of mortgage at Flagstar, will succeed Craig Gifford. Gifford, who is leaving to "reengage in personal endeavors outside of the banking industry," will remain with the bank through March 31. “For

Berkshire Hills Bancorp in Boston has agreed to buy Brookline Bancorp in Boston. The $11.6 billion-asset Berkshire said in a press release that it will pay $1.1 billion in stock for the $11.7 billion-asset Brookline. The deal is expected to close in the second half of next year. Berkshire shareholders will own 51.2% of the company, though Brookline will be the accounting acquirer. Berkshire also plans to sell $100 million of

Carver Bancorp in New York narrowly prevailed in a proxy battle with an activist investor. The company disclosed in a regulatory filing that directors Jillian Joseph and Kenneth Knuckles were reelected at its annual meeting. Dream Chasers Capital Group, which owns about 9.7% of Carver’s outstanding stock and has been trying to take over the company, had contested for the seats by nominating Jeff Anderson, a former chief financial officer

Heritage Bancshares in Topeka, Kan., has agreed to buy Fidelity Kansas Bancshares in Topeka. The parent of the $135 million-asset Heritage Bank said in a press release that it expects to complete its purchase of the parent of the $160 million-asset Fidelity State Bank and Trust in the second quarter. The price wasn't disclosed. "The team at Fidelity has done an excellent job building relationships with their clients and communities,

Mantl, a fintech that offers account origination solutions, will add consumer and business loan origination technology to its platform. Mantl Loan Origination can automate up to 100% of the loan application and decisioning process for personal and business loans. Mantl said the product can integrate with all major core banking systems. It combines account opening with loan origination, potentially shortening the process to less than three minutes. "By integrating deposit