West Shore Bank in Ludington, Mich., bought the wealth management, investment advisory and trust services business of Auto Club Trust FSB in Dearborn, Mich. The $768 million-asset West Shore did not disclose the pricing for the all-cash transaction. “Our team is committed to providing personalized service, expert guidance, and customized solutions to help clients achieve their financial goals," Raymond Biggs, West Shore's CEO, said in a statement. "This acquisition aligns

Itasca Bank & Trust in Itasca, Ill., has new leadership. The $772 million-asset bank said in a press release that John J. Hunt had become its president. Hunt, who will remain chief loan officer, succeeded James Mensching, who is chairman and CEO. Mensching succeeded Jack Mensching, who retired as chairman. Itasca "has built a legacy of trust, stability, and community commitment for 77 years, and I am honored to step

Solid Financial Technologies, also known as Wise Company, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The California-based fintech, which offers infrastructure for digital banking and payment processing, submitted its petition on Monday, listing both assets and liabilities in the $1 million to $10 million range. The bankruptcy marks yet another blow to the increasingly fragile Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) ecosystem. Once hailed

Alinea Invest, a wealth management fintech focused on younger investors, has raised $10.4 million in its Series A funding round. Eve Halimi, the New York company's co-founder and co-CEO, announced in a LinkedIn post that the funding was led by Play Ventures and included GFR Fund, Y Combinator, Gaingels, FoundersX Ventures, and F7 Ventures. "A huge thank you to our incredible team, investors, and community—this wouldn’t be possible without you," Halimi

Ripple, a San Francisco company that provides digital asset infrastructure, has agreed to buy New York prime broker Hidden Road for nearly $1.3 billion. “We are at an inflection point for the next phase of digital asset adoption – the U.S. market is effectively open for the first time due to the regulatory overhang of the former SEC coming to an end, and the market is maturing to address the

F.N.B. Corp. in Pittsburgh has agreed to buy Pittsburgh investment bank Raptor Partners. F.N.B. did not disclose the price it will pay for Raptor, which focuses on M&A, corporate finance, valuation advisory and private capital raising. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter. "The addition of investment banking rounds out our offerings, enabling FNB to provide clients with advisory services throughout their entire business life cycle," Vincent

First Citizens BancShares in Raleigh, N.C., and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. have ended their shared-loss agreement tied to the 2023 failure of Silicon Valley Bank. First Citizens took over much of Silicon Valley Bank's operations when it failed. The five-year shared-loss agreement covered an estimated $60 billion of loans. Under the agreement's terms, the FDIC agreed to reimburse First Citizens for half of any losses if they amounted to

PNC Financial Services Group in Pittsburgh snagged a Blackrock executive to serve as its president. The company said in a press release that Mark Wiedman will also serve as president of PNC Bank. The company's primary operating lines and regional presidents will report to Wiedman, who will then report to Chairman and CEO William Demchak. Wiedman was a senior managing director at BlackRock and a member of its global executive