Walmart aims to end Capital One card relationship
Walmart wants to end its credit card relationship with Capital One Financial in McLean, Va. Capital One disclosed in a regulatory filing that the giant retailer filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York in an effort to terminate their private label and cobranded card programs. The lawsuit, filed on April […]
F&M in Va. names new president, CEO
F&M Bank in Timberville, Va., has new leadership. The $1.3 billion-asset company said in a press release that Mike Wilkerson had become its CEO and that Barton Black was named president. They succeeded Mark Hanna, who is leaving the company and stepping down from its board. Wilkerson previously served as chief lending officer and chief […]
CoastalSouth in SC completes $9M private placement
CoastalSouth Bancshares in Hilton Head, S.C., has raised $9 million through a private placement of common stock. The $2 billion-asset company said in a press release that it will use the net proceeds for a range of purposes that could include continued growth and maintaining bank-level regulatory capital ratios. The company did not disclose the […]
How First Miami found a buyer in United Community
First Miami Bancorp in South Miami, Fla., considered four offers before deciding to negotiate with United Community Banks in Greenville, S.C. The $24 billion-asset United agreed in February to buy the $1 billion-asset First Miami for $115.9 million in stock. First Miami initially considered finding a merger partner in early 2020 but put that effort […]
Former Boston Fed CEO joins Berkshire’s board
Berkshire Hills Bancorp in Boston has added a former Federal Reserve official to its board. The $11.7 billion-asset company said in a press release that Eric Rosengren also joined its bank’s board on April 5. He joined the board’s risk management, capital and compliance and audit committees. Rosengren was president and CEO of the Boston […]
First Republic suspends some preferred stock dividends
First Republic Bank in San Francisco has suspended payment of quarterly cash dividends on its outstanding noncumulative perpetual preferred stock. The $213 billion-asset bank said in a press release that it decided to pause the payments “as a measure of prudent oversight.” Tim Coffey, an analyst at Janney Montgomery Scott, wrote in a note to […]
Climate-focused neobank Aspiration cutting 180 jobs
Aspiration, a climate-focused neobank, plans to lay off more than 180 employees. The Marina Del Ray, Calif., company disclosed the cuts as part of a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) letter filed on March 24. The layoffs will happen between May 26 and June 1. The fintech cut roughly 100 positions in December. “The […]
FDIC hires Blackrock to market failed banks’ securities
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has hired Blackrock Financial Market Advisory to assist in marketing the securities portfolios of the failed Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. The agency said in a press release that the face value for the Signature securities is about $27 billion. The face value of the Silicon Valley securities is […]
Farmers Bank applies to buy Nelsonville H&S in Ohio
Farmers Bank and Savings in Pomeroy, Ohio, has applied to acquire Nelsonville Home and Savings in Nelsonville, Ohio. The $394 million-asset Farmers Bank submitted its application to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to buy the $35.6 million-asset Nelsonville Home and Savings. The banks also filed a legal notice with the Athens Messenger. Comments are due […]
Organizers planning de novo bank in Florida
Organizers are looking to form a de novo bank in Ocala, Fla. A group filed an application for deposit insurance with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for Gala Bank. A public notice sent to the Ocala StarBanner lists 13 organizers: Dennis Baxley, Larry Cheshire, Digvijay Gaekwad, William Gaston III, Roger McKellar, Matthew Gray, Richelle Pace, […]
Western Alliance says deposit balances have stabilized
Western Alliance Bancorp. in Phoenix said that deposit balances have stabilized in the past two weeks. The $65 billion-asset company said in a press release that it had “elevated net deposit outflows” in the wake of the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Most of those outflows came from its technology and innovation […]
NuMark CU agrees to buy Pioneer State in Illinois
NuMark Credit Union in Joliet, Ill., has agreed to buy Pioneer State Bank in Earlville, Ill. The $637 million-asset NuMark said in a press release that it will buy substantially all of the $122 million-asset bank’s assets and liabilities from NBE Bancshares in a cash transaction. The price wasn’t disclosed. The deal is expected to […]
Webster taps former Sterling exec as bank president
Webster Financial in Stamford, Conn., has a new bank president. The $71.3 billion-asset company said in a press release that Luis Massiani had accepted the post. He will remain chief operating officer. Massiani joined Webster following its January merger with Sterling Bancorp, where he was bank president and chief operating officer. Massiani succeeded John Ciulla, […]
BHB Fund makes first fintech investment
The Bankers Helping Bankers Fund has made its first investment, committing funds to RiskScout, a regtech company that specializes in compliance automation. RiskScout said in a press release that it plans to use the funds to accelerate growth, expand its products and invest in partnerships to better serve community banks. The amount of the investment and the […]
Frank founder charged with fraud tied to fintech’s sale to Chase
The founder of Frank faces four criminal charges from the Department of Justice tied to claims of “falsely and dramatically inflating” the fintech’s client numbers prior to its 2021 sale to JPMorgan Chase for $175 million. The DoJ said in a press release that Charlie Javice was arrested on Monday. The release said Javice, Frank’s […]
South Plains Financial sells insurance agency
South Plains Financial in Lubbock, Texas, sold its insurance agency to Alliant Insurance Services. The $3.9 billion-asset South Financial said in a press release that it sold Windmark Insurance Agency on April 1. The price wasn’t disclosed. “Windmark has been a terrific business for us since its inception in 1997,” Curtis Griffith, South Plains’ chairman […]
Deposits rebounding at small, midsize banks
Deposits at small and midsize U.S. banks are inching back up. Excluding the nation’s 25 biggest banks, deposits rose roughly $5.9 billion on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week that ended March 22, according to data collected by the Federal Reserve. That represents a 0.1% increase from the prior week. Deposits had fallen by […]
FDIC to sell big Signature loan book this summer
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will look to sell about $60 billion of former Signature Bank loans this summer. The agency said in a press release that the portfolio largely consists of commercial real estate loans, commercial loans and a smaller pool of mortgages. The CRE loans include a concentration of multifamily properties, mostly located […]
SoFi buys fintech mortgage company
SoFi Technologies in San Francisco has bought Wyndham Capital Mortgage. SoFi said in a press release that it paid cash for the fintech mortgage company. The price wasn’t disclosed. The deal is expected to be accretive within six months. SoFi said the acquisition will allow it to broaden its suite of mortgage products, enhance unit […]
Montana credit union group hires new CEO
Montana’s Credit Unions has its next CEO lined up. The association said in a press release that Gerry Singleton will also become its president. He will succeed Tracie Kenyon, who has led the association for nearly 22 years. Singleton has spent almost 25 years as the vice president of credit union system relations at CUNA […]
HBT in Illinois selects insider as next CEO
HBT Financial in Bloomington, Ill., has set the stage for its next CEO. The $4.3 billion-asset company said in a press release that J. Lance Carter will also become its president on May 24. Carter, president and CEO of HBT’s bank, will succeed Fred Drake. Drake will remain chairman of HBT and its bank. “In […]
BaaS fintech raises funds from bank-led investor group
Infinant, a Charlotte, N.C., fintech, has raised capital in a financing round involving FINTOP Capital and JAM FINTOP BankTech. Infinant said the funding will accelerate the product expansion and deployment of Interlace, a cloud-based platform that lets banks launch, scale and control Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) and embedded programs. The amount of funding wasn’t disclosed. “Financial institutions […]
Why ICBA is making changes to its fintech accelerator
The Independent Community Bankers of America’s decision to bring its fintech accelerator in-house should expedite bringing products to member banks and allow for integrating relationships with established partners. The ICBA last year announced a plan to move its ThinkTECH Accelerator from Little Rock, Ark., to Atlanta. The accelerator also hired Stephanie Foster, former chief administration […]
Republic First CEO: We are NOT First Republic Bank
Republic First Bancorp in Philadelphia is looking to address confusion over its name and that of First Republic Bank, which has been under stress since the failures of two other regional banks. Thomas Geisel, the $5.6 billion-asset Republic First’s president and CEO, posted a letter on the company’s website in an effort to draw a […]
FDIC exercises rights tied to First Citizens, NY Community
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has exercised its equity appreciation rights tied to common stock in First Citizens BancShares and New York Community Bancorp. First Citizens disclosed in a regulatory filing that the FDIC on Tuesday exercised its right to a payment of $500 million. An FDIC representative told Reuters that it also exercised its […]