Columbia Banking System in Tacoma, Wash., has agreed to buy Pacific Premier Bancorp in Irvine, Calif. The $50 billion-asset Columbia said in a press release that it will pay $2 billion for the $18.1 billion-asset Pacific Premier. The deal, which is expected to close in the second half of this year, priced Pacific Premier at 99% of its tangible book value. Columbia said the acquisition accelerates its Southern California expansion

Edward Jones in St. Louis is again looking to form an industrial bank in Utah. The brokerage company applied with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on April 11 to form Edward Jones Bank. The application wasn't immediately available. Edward Jones last filed its applications for Edward Jones Bank in July 2020. Ray Dardano, who had been the CEO of Marlin Business Bank, was tapped to lead the effort with hopes

National Bank Holding in Denver reported lower quarterly earnings after charging off a credit due to suspected fraud by a borrower. The $10.1 billion-asset company said in a press release that its first-quarter net income fell by 23% from a year earlier, to $24.2 million. The company recorded $10.2 million of provision expense, largely due to the problematic loan. National Bank provided no other details about the borrower or the

BCB Bancorp in Bayonne, N.J., lost money in the first quarter after setting funds aside to cover issues with a borrower in the cannabis sector. The billion-asset company said in a press release that it lost $8.3 million, after earnings $5.9 million a year earlier. The first quarter included a $13.7 million specific reserve tied to a $34.2 million loan in the cannabis sector. “Although the borrower remains current, the

Orange County Bancorp in Middleton, N.Y., has agreed to sell a branch for $2.5 million. The $2.5 billion-asset company said in a press release that it will sell the property in Middleton to JRTN Properties in a deal expected to close this week. Orange County will lease the branch on a month-to-month basis through the rest of this year.

Fintech custodian Altruist raised $152 million in a Series F funding round. The Los Angeles company said in a press release that the round was led by GIC, with Salesforce Ventures, Geodesic Capital, Baillie Gifford, the Carson Family Office, and ICONIQ Growth also participating. The round values the company at approximately $1.9 billion. “Altruist’s track record of building best-in-class, innovative products has positioned them to serve a large and growing

MIDFLORIDA Credit Union in Lakeland, Fla., has agreed to buy Prime Meridian Bank in Tallahassee, Fla. The $8.6 billion-asset credit union said in a press release that it will pay $58.50 a share in cash for the $924 million-asset bank in a deal expected to close next year. Prime Meridian, which has four branches, would be MIDFLORIDA’s third bank acquisition in the past five years. “As Florida’s community credit union

MainStreet Bancshares in Fairfax, Va., is encouraging investors to reject a shareholder proposal that the board sell the Fairfax, Va., company. The $2.2 billion-asset company also announced that it pulled the plug on its long-planned Avenu Banking-as-a-Service platform. Shareholder Philip Timyan proposed that the company and its assets be sold "at the earliest opportunity for the highest price available" due to what he views as subpar returns. Timyan owns about