BM Technologies pushes back closing timeline for bank deal
BM Technologies in Radnor, Pa., no longer expects to complete its pending purchase of First Sound Bank in 2022. The fintech, which intends to rebrand the $154 million-asset First Sound as BMTX Bank, said in a press release that it will resubmit its merger application to “respond to questions posed by regulators.” The plan is […]
Kennebec Savings planning first branch in Portland, Maine
Kennebec Savings Bank in Augusta, Maine, is planning to open its first branch in Portland, Maine. The $1.5 billion-asset bank recently bought a location in the city, according to B98.5 FM. The branch is expected to open in the first quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank, which opened in 1870, has seven branches. The bank merged with […]
M&T forms institutional real estate group
M&T Bank in Buffalo, N.Y., has formed a new group to focus on lending the real estate investment trusts and investment real estate fund clients. The $204 billion-asset company said in a press release that Sam Bluso will run the newly formed business as its head of institutional real estate. Bluso previously served as head of […]
Fed approves Newtek’s BHC application
Newtek Business Services in Boca Raton, Fla., has received approval from the Federal Reserve to become a bank holding company. Newtek, which lends to small and midsize companies, would obtain a charter from its pending purchase of National Bank of New York City, which still needs approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the […]
Legacy Bank in Mo. to buy multifamily lender
Legacy Bank & Trust in Mountain Grove, Mo., has agreed to buy Crain Mortgage in Dallas. Brett Magers, president of the $1 billion-asset Legacy, said in a LinkedIn post that Crain is an FHA multifamily accelerated processing lending. Crain will be rebranded as Legacy Capital. The deal is expected to close by the end of […]
Cecil in Maryland freed from 2010 written agreement
The Federal Reserve has terminated a 12-year-old written agreement against Cecil Bancorp in Elkton, Md. The $242.5 million-asset Cecil had been operating under the agreement since June 2010. Among other things, it instructed the company to submit a written plan to improve oversight, hire a consultant to conduct a corporate governance review and strengthen its […]
LGBTQ+ neobank Daylight raises $15M in funding round
Daylight, a challenger bank focused on the LGBTQ+ community, plans to offer a family planning subscription service after raising $15 million in new capital. Daylight said in a press release that the funding was led by Anthemis Group. Vinay Singh, managing director at Anthemis Group, will join Daylight’s board. “Family creation is a major life […]
First Community in Va. to buy Surrey Bancorp in N.C.
First Community Bankshares in Bluefield, Va., has agreed to buy Surrey Bancorp in Mount Airy, N.C. The $3.6 billion-asset First Community said in a press release that it will pay $113.2 million in stock for the $500 million-asset Surrey. The deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter, priced Surrey at 194% of its […]
Visa taps insider as its next CEO
Visa will soon have a new CEO. The company said in a press release that Ryan McInerney, its president, will succeed Alfred Kelly on Feb. 1. Kelly, who has been CEO since 2016, will remain chairman. “I cannot think of a finer leader to continue to position Visa at the center of money movement in increasingly innovative ways,” […]
Commerce in Mo. to buy municipal bond underwriter
Commerce Bancshares in Kansas City, Mo., has agreed to buy municipal bond underwriter and adviser L.J. Hart & Co. The $32.6 billion-asset Commerce didn’t disclose the price it paid for the St. Louis, Mo., company. L.J. Hart has advised more than 300 Missouri public school districts and nearly a quarter of the 114 Missouri county […]
Ergo Bank in Wis. to buy Farmers & Merchants
Ergo Bank in Markesan, Wis., has agreed to buy Farmers & Merchants Bank of Kendall in Wisconsin. The $138 million-asset Ergo submitted its application to buy the $79 million-asset Farmers & Merchants on Wednesday. Farmers & Merchants, formed in 1913, has three branches, $60 million of loans and $64.8 million of deposits. The application wasn’t […]
First United in Maryland acquires mortgage lender
First United in Oakland, Md., has acquired First Mortgage Services in Cumberland, Md. The $1.8 billion-asset First United said in a press release that First Mortgage has originated nearly $900 million of consumer mortgages since 1997. The price wasn’t disclosed. The acquisition “will enhance our ability to assist our customers and market areas,” Carissa Rodeheaver, […]
Northstar in Michigan buys wealth manager
Northstar Bank in Bad Axe, Mich., has acquired Cypress Capital Wealth Management in Ann Arbor, Mich. The $901 million Northstar, a unit of Northstar Financial Group, retained James Housler, Cypress Capital’s founder and president, according to DBusiness Magazine. The price wasn’t disclosed. “Personalization is the future of financial services, so the acquisition of Cypress Capital […]
Citizens State in Wis. to buy Community Financial Bank
Citizens State Bank in Cadott, Wis., has agreed to buy Community Financial Bank in Prentice, Wis. The $169 million-asset Citizens State said in a press release that it expects to complete the purchase of the $49 million-asset Community Financial early next year. The price wasn’t disclosed. Community Financial has two branches. “We are very excited […]
Santander debuts health care equipment finance business
Santander Bank in Boston has started offering commercial equipment finance products to health care organizations. The $93.9 billion-asset company said in a press release that Santander Healthcare is an extension of its commercial equipment and vehicle finance business. Clients will include hospitals and health systems, out-patient clinics and specialized providers. “The pandemic brought to center […]
Climate First buys climate, social justice fintech platform
Climate First Bancorp in St. Petersburg, Fla., has acquired the climate and social justice platform developed by Ecountabl. The parent of the $221 million-asset Climate First Bank said in a press release that the platform indexes data on more than 10,000 companies, analyzing their environmental, social and governance performance. The price wasn’t disclosed. The platform […]
Consortium looks to bring banks together on tech projects
A new group is looking to bring small and midsize banks together to work on technology projects. The Btech Consortium is being led by Elizabeth Park Capital Management, Strandview Capital and a group of banks that includes East West Bancorp in Los Angeles and Customers Bancorp in West Reading, Pa. Participating banks will pool their […]
Burke & Herbert in Virginia to join Nasdaq
Burke & Herbert Financial Services in Alexandria, Va., plans to list its shares on the Nasdaq. The $3.5 billion-asset company said in a press release that it should join the exchange in the next six months. Its shares currently trade on the over-the-counter pink sheets. “We believe listing our shares on Nasdaq will broaden the […]
Republic First rejects activist investor’s board nomination
Republic First Bancorp has rejected a petition by a large shareholder to nominate a candidate for the Philadelphia company’s board. The $5.6 billion-asset company disclosed in a regulatory filing that Philip Norcross sent notice that he planned to nominate Gregory Braca for consideration at the next annual meeting, which is set for January. Republic First […]
Treasury: Guidance needed for bank-fintech partnerships
The Treasury Department is pushing federal bank regulators to complete guidance tied to how banks oversee risk associated with fintech relationships. The agency warned in a new 128-page report that fintechs are creating new risks to consumer protection and market integrity in areas such as data privacy and regulatory arbitrage. The report called for enhanced […]
Group tied to Ben Carson set to buy Oklahoma bank
A group with ties to Ben Carson, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, has received regulatory approval to buy First State Bank in Elmore City, Okla. The group said in a press release that it is set to buy the $17 million-asset bank on Nov. 30. It will be rebranded as Old Glory Bank […]
Customers in Pa. latest bank to address digital asset turmoil
Customers Bancorp in West Reading, Pa., is the latest crypto-focused banking company to address its ties to the industry. The $20 billion-asset Customers said in a press release Wednesday that it the FTX bankruptcy will have “no material impact on the bank.” Customers said it does not have a deposit relationship with FTX or any […]
BankProv parent warns of 3Q loss tied to crypto mining clients
Provident Bancorp in Amesbury, Mass., is signaling that it will report a net loss for the third quarter that reflects its dealings with the cryptocurrency mining industry. The $1.8 billion-asset parent of BankProv disclosed in a regulatory filing that it expects to report a loss of about $27.5 million in the quarter. The anticipated loss […]
NY Fed, big banks to run proof-of-concept CBDC pilot
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is planning to run a proof-of-concept pilot with several large banks for a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The New York Fed said in a press release that the New York Innovation Center (NYIC) will launch a 12-week pilot. The program will test the “technical feasibility, legal viability, […]
Veteran bank analyst Ed Najarian joins EF Hutton
Ed Najarian, a veteran banking analyst, has ended an extended break to join EF Hutton. EF Hutton, a division of Benchmark Investments, said in a press release that Najarian was named senior managing director of its equity research department. “Building a top-tier research platform has been a key priority for the management team at EF […]