Independent Bank Group in McKinney, Texas, which is in the process of selling itself to SouthState in Winter Haven, Fla., is exiting the mortgage warehouse business. The $18.6 billion-asset company said in a press release that the move should increase capital and liquidity. Independent said it began notifying customers and that it will stop funding new mortgage warehouse purchase loans in the fourth quarter. It had $392 million of mortgage warehouse

Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge, Tenn., has agreed to buy First State Bank of the Southeast in Middlesboro, Ky. The $2 billion-asset Y-12 said in a press release that it expects to buy the $415 million-asset First State in early 2025. The price wasn't disclosed. First State is the 19th bank to announce plans to sell to a credit union this year, continuing to surpass the previous record

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau hit Goldman Sachs and Apple with $89 million in financial penalties tied to their handling of the Apple Card. Goldman was hit with a $45 million civil money penalty, while Apple must pay $25 million. In addition, Goldman must pay at least $19.8 million in redress to impacted Apple Card users. Goldman was also barred from launching a new credit card unless it provides a credible

Farmers National Banc Corp. in Canfield, Ohio, reported lower quarterly profit after an issue with a commercial credit backed by an office property. The $5.2 billion-asset company said in a press release that its third-quarter earnings fell by 36% from a year earlier, to $8.5 million. Farmers said the lower profit was due to a $4.4 million charge-off and a $1.2 million specific reserve tied to the $12.5 million loan.

First Commerce Bancorp in Lewisburg, Tenn., has agreed to buy Peoples Bank of Middle Tennessee in Shelbyville. The holding company for the $653 million-asset First Commerce Bank expects to complete its purchase of the $185 million-asset Peoples Bank in the first quarter. The price wasn't disclosed. Peoples Bank has one branch. Olsen Palmer advised Peoples Bank.

Informa Group, which operates the Finovate conference series, has acquired Ascential. Ascential is the company behind the annual Money20/20 conference in Las Vegas. The financial terms were not disclosed. Informa Group said it will form Informa Festivals, a new business for its conference events, on Jan. 1. “The completion of the Ascential acquisition, creation of Informa Festivals and prospective creation of Informa TechTarget will establish leadership and scale in all

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau created an exemption for smaller banks when it comes to the agency's new open banking rule. Banks with less than $850 million in assets will not be required to implement Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act, according to the massive 594-page rule. That would exempt about 3,370 banks, based on data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The final rule requires data providers to make

Banco Santander has debuted its digital bank in the United States. The Spanish bank launched Openbank, which has been available in Europe for some time, by offering a high-yield savings account. The plan is to add more products, including a checking account, debit cards and CDs in 2025; loans could be available a year after that. The move should allow Santander to expand deposit gathering beyond its retail bank, which