Sezzle applies to form national bank
Sezzle has applied to form a national bank. The Minneapolis fintech applied to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to create Sezzle Bank. If approved, Sezzle Bank would offer FDIC-insured deposit accounts, checking and savings accounts, and credit products. Sezzle Bank would focus on digitally native consumers, […]
BayCom in Calif. reports lower profit following securities sales
BayCom in Walnut Creek, Calif., reported lower quarterly profit after it purged its securities portfolio. The $2.7 billion-asset company said in a press release that its third-quarter profit fell by 78% from a year earlier, to $1.1 million. BayCom sold $106.8 million of available-for-sale investment securities at a $6.8 million loss. The proceeds were redeployed […]
Seattle de novo effort aims to end landlord refinance cycle
A Seattle group has applied to open a bank built around a single idea: landlords shouldn’t have to find a new lender every five to ten years. Organizers of Final Finance Bank filed its charter and deposit insurance application with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions on Oct. […]
N.H. group gets conditional FDIC approval to open Strategist Bank
Organizers in Bedford, N.H., received approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for deposit insurance. The FDIC granted conditional approval for Strategist Bank. The group must raise $30 million before opening the bank. Organizers applied to regulators in mid-March. The bank has four organizers: Michael Simchik, Robert Pace, Dylan Cruess and James Pietro.
ConnectOne earnings dip due to planned multifamily loan sale.
ConnectOne Bancorp in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., reported lower quarterly profit after agreeing to sell a pool of multifamily loans. The $14.8 billion-asset company said in a press release that its third-quarter earnings fell 24% from a year earlier, to $29.9 million. The company plans to sell up to $750 million in unpaid principal balance of […]
Kearny in N.J. forms nonprofit banking team as deposit-gathering strategy
Kearny Financial in Fairfield, N.J., created a new business line to collect deposits. The $7.8 billion-asset company said in a press release that, during the third quarter, it formed a nonprofit and independent education banking team. “This initiative broadens access to attractive relationship-based funding sources and further diversifies our deposit franchise,” Craig Montanaro, Kearny’s president […]
Plains State in Texas to buy First National Bank of Lake Jackson
Plains State Bank in Humble, Texas, has agreed to buy Austin Colony in Lake Jackson, Texas. Austin Colony is the holding company for the $218.4 million-asset First National Bank of Lake Jackson. Plains State Bank has $828.4 million in assets. The price wasn’t disclosed. Performance Trust Capital Partners advised Austin Colony.
Fresno bankers file to launch California Standard Bank
A group of Fresno bankers and business leaders has applied to open California Standard Bank. The organizers, in their application with the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., said the proposed California Standard would be a traditional business bank, lending to small and midsize businesses, agricultural operations, professionals, […]
Northpointe in Mich. to sell certain mortgage ops to CMG Financial
Northpointe Bancshares in Grand Rapids, Mich., has agreed to sell its direct mortgage origination channels to CMG Financial. The $7.7 billion-asset Northpointe said in a press release that the sale will include its distributed retail and consumer direct mortgage origination channels. The sale is expected to close by the end of this year; pricing wasn’t […]
Cross River parent to buy customer loyalty fintech Accrue
CRB Group, the parent company of Cross River Bank in Fort Lee, N.J., has agreed to buy customer loyalty fintech Accrue. Cross River did not disclose the price it will pay. “Payments and loyalty are becoming one,” Gilles Gade, Cross River’s founder and CEO, said in the press release. “Every brand wants its own wallet, […]
Home in Louisiana taps long-time insider to become next CEO
Home Bancorp in Lafayette, La., will begin 2027 with a new CEO. The $3.6 billion-asset company said in a press release that John Bordelon will retire on Jan. 8. He will remain chairman. Darren Guidry will become CEO and remain president. He has been at Home since 1993. “We extend our sincere appreciation to John […]
Fintech Ramp seeks national trust bank charter, buys Vestor
Ramp has applied for a national trust bank charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The expense management fintech said in a LinkedIn post that the proposed Ramp National Trust Bank would offer “fiduciary investment management and custody of digital assets.” The planned trust bank “would bring these services under a consistent […]
Dime in New York to buy parent of Empire State Bank
Dime Commercial Bancshares in Hauppauge, N.Y., has agreed to buy ES Bancshares in Staten Island, N.Y. The $15 billion-asset Dime said in a press release that it will pay $58 million in cash and stock for the parent of the $596 million-asset Empire State Bank. The deal, which is expected to close in the first […]
M&F board rejects Triad Business Bank, pushes Optus vote to Nov. 4
The fight for M&F Bancorp isn’t over yet, but the Durham, N.C., company’s board made clear where it stands. M&F Bancorp’s board unanimously reaffirmed its support for the pending sale to Optus Financial in Columbia, S.C. It also formally rejected Triad Business Bank’s fourth proposal, concluding the Greensboro, N.C., bank’s offer is not superior to […]
DFCU in Michigan strikes again with another Florida bank deal
DFCU Financial in Dearborn, Mich., has agreed to buy Gulfside Bank in Sarasota, Fla. The $8 billion-asset DFCU said in a press release that the $345 million-asset Gulfside would be its fourth acquisition in Florida since 2023. Gulfside has $256 million in loans and $294 million in deposits. The price wasn’t disclosed. “This acquisition represents […]
Alliance Bank in Texas recruits banking vet as next CEO
Alliance Bank in Sulphur Springs, Texas, has a new leader. The bank said in a release that Craig Roberts had become its president and CEO. Roberts previously served as COO of Guaranty Bank & Trust.
Truist to sell unsecured lending platform assets to Carlyle Group
Truist Financial in Charlotte, N.C., has agreed to sell its unsecured lending platform. The $554 billion-asset company said in a press release that it will sell $7.7 billion of unsecured consumer loans, representing substantially all of LightStream’s assets, to Carlyle Group. Truist called LightStream a “non-core, loan-only business” that earns a below-target return on tangible […]
Triad Business Bank emerges in fight over M&F Bank in N.C.
The sale of one of the nation’s oldest Black-owned banks has become a public contest. Optus Financial in Columbia, S.C., agreed in July to buy M&F Bancorp in Durham, N.C., for $105 million in cash, but M&F Bancorp’s shareholders failed to approve the sale at an Oct. 7 special meeting. The $517.5 million-asset M&F Bancorp […]
Array buys business credit fintech Hansa
Array, an embeddable fintech platform that offers financial empowerment tools, acquired Hansa, which pairs business credit furnishing with embedded business credit tools. Array said in a press release that the acquisition expands its product portfolio to serve small business and commercial credit clients. Hansa and Array share a common foundation in API-first architecture and embedded […]
TexasBank parent to buy Haskell National Bank
Texas Banc Financial in Fort Worth has agreed to buy Haskell Bancshares in Haskell, Texas. The $2.5 billion-asset parent of TexasBank said in a press release that it expects to buy the holding company of the $72.6 million-asset Haskell National Bank by early next year. The price wasn’t disclosed. “This combination represents the best of […]
Real estate developer applies to form new Seattle bank
Plans are under way for a new bank in Seattle. Final Finance Bank applied to the Washington State Department and Financial Institutions and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for a bank charter and deposit insurance. The application wasn’t immediately available. A legal notice filed in conjunction with the application listed Dave Rubens as the sole […]
First Horizon reports 3Q loss amid plan to shed mortgages
First Horizon in Memphis, Tenn., reported a third-quarter net loss after deciding to sell a large portion of its mortgage portfolio. The $84.3 billion-asset company said in a press release that it had a $79 million net loss after arranging the sale of $4.5 billion of “select lower-yielding consumer mortgages.” First Horizon said it began […]
BayFirst investor Ken Lehman boosts stake in Fla. bank to 39%
Veteran bank investor Ken Lehman now has a 39.4% stake in BayFirst Financial in St. Petersburg, Fla. Lehman acquired nearly 750,000 shares of common stock as part of a rights offering, adding to a major recapitalization and leadership overhaul at the company. Lehman, who joined BayFirst’s board earlier this year, was the backstop purchaser in […]
Bank of America hit with $1.2 billion penalty tied to BSA/AML shortcomings
Bank of America in Charlotte, N.C., must pay more than $1.2 billion in penalties for violating anti-money laundering and sanctions laws. The fine, levied by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, is the third largest in Treasury Department history. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency hit BofA with its own $750 million civil monetary […]
Columbia Banking System moving execs from Washington to Arizona
Columbia Banking System is moving most of its top executives from Washington to Arizona. The new executive office in Scottsdale is expected to open next month, according to published reports. The move comes as new Washington taxes are costing the Lake Oswego, Ore., company about $8 million annually. CEO Clint Stein sold his Auburn, Wash., […]