New York Community pledges $28B to back underserved
New York Community Bancorp in Hicksville, N.Y., has committed $28 billion of loans, investments and other financial support to underserved communities as part of its planned purchase of Flagstar Bancorp in Troy, Mich. The $58 billion-asset New York Community said in a Monday press release that it had made the pledge as part of an […]
Republic First in Penn. delays plan to raise capital
Republic First Bancorp in Philadelphia is delaying plans to raise more capital. Executives of the $5.6 billion-asset company made the disclosure during a Thursday conference call to discuss fourth-quarter results. “As the quarter progressed, we made the decision that it would be in the best interest of not only the bank but our shareholders to […]
H&R Block debuts challenger bank Spruce
H&R Block in Kansas City, Mo., has created a challenger bank. The tax preparation company said in a press release Thursday that it had launched Spruce, a mobile banking platform that will include a spending account with a debit card. Meta Financial’s MetaBank is providing the banking products for Spruce, which will look to address […]
Sterling in Mich. improves governance to settle investor claim
Sterling Bancorp in Southfield, Mich., has implemented numerous governance measures to resolve a shareholder demand for change. The $3.1 billion-asset company said in a press release Friday that the settlement of the July 2020 shareholder action will also include payment of the shareholder’s attorneys’ fees and expenses in exchange for the release of all defendants […]
Blue Ridge, FVCBankcorp in Va. call off merger
Blue Ridge Bankshares in Charlottesville, Va., and FVCBankcorp in Fairfax, Va., no longer plan to merge. The $3.2 billion-asset Blue Ridge and the $2 billion-asset FVCB said in a press release Thursday that they had agreed to terminate the all-stock deal. Each company will bear its own costs and expenses in connection with the terminated […]
Famers and Merchants in Md. to begin CEO search
Farmers and Merchants Bancshares in Hampstead, Md., is looking for its next CEO. The $716 million-asset company said in a press release Thursday that James Bosley Jr. will also retire as president and the end of this year. Bosley, 60, joined the bank in 1983 and has been its president and CEO since 1995. Bosley […]
Synovus on track with cost cutting, revenue goal
Synovus Financial in Columbus, Ga., said it feels comfortable with its ability to achieve the $175 million in expense cuts and added revenue from its current efficiency effort. The $57 billion-asset company said in a press release Thursday that the Synovus Forward program reduced annual expenses by $55 million and added $55 million in revenue […]
Fifth Third to buy solar energy lender POS lender
Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati is making a move in point-of-sale lending with an agreement to buy Dividend Finance in San Francisco. The $211 billion-asset Fifth Third said in a press release Wednesday that it expects to acquire the home-improvement fintech in the second quarter. The price was not disclosed. Dividend Finance, founded in 2013 […]
Bank First in Wis. to bolster ag lending with bank deal
Bank First in Manitowoc, Wis., has agreed to buy Denmark Bancshares in Denmark, Wis. The $2.9 billion-asset Bank First said in a press release Wednesday that it will pay $119.5 million in cash and stock for the $688 million-asset parent of Denmark State Bank. The deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter, […]
Florida group applies to open de novo bank
A group in Florida is looking to form a de novo bank. Organizers of Evermore Bank in Fort Lauderdale applied on Tuesday with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for deposit insurance. The group plans to raise $26 million to $45 million of initial capital, according to the application. Organizers intend to open a second branch […]
Signature in N.Y. to raise $739M of new capital
Signature Bank in New York is set to raise about $739 million of offensive capital. The $118 billion-asset bank said in a regulatory filing Tuesday that it will sell 2.1 million shares of common stock at $352 each. The underwriters can sell another 315,000 shares if there is demand. The bank said it plans to […]
FDIC’s chief innovation officer to resign
The first chief innovation officer at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is resigning. Sultan Meghji disclosed in a tweet Tuesday that he will step down on Feb. 18. “Being the first chief innovation officer of this agency has been a tremendous honor,” he said in the tweet. “It was a dream to be able to […]
SoFi gains conditional OCC approval for bank purchase
SoFi has received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to acquire Golden Pacific Bank in Sacramento, Calif. The regulatory agency said in a press release Tuesday that it also approved Social Finance’s application to create SoFi Bank, which will be based in Cottonwood Heights, Utah. SoFi will have $5.3 billion […]
Texas First to offer multicurrency debit account
Texas First Bank in Texas City is planning to launch a multicurrency debit account as part of a partnership with fintech Rêv Worldwide. The $2 billion-asset bank is set to introduce X World Wallet, a product that will eventually be offered to other community banks and credit unions, according to a press release. X World […]
Atlantic Union adds more duties for bank president
Atlantic Union Bankshares in Richmond, Va., has given a top bank executive more responsibility. The $19.9 billion-asset company said in a press release Monday that it had appointed Maria Tedesco to serve as chief operating officer of Atlantic Union Bank. She will remain the bank’s president, a position she has held since 2018. In the […]
Former Talmer bankers tied to Michigan de novo effort
A pair for former Talmer Bancorp bankers are part of an effort to open a de novo in a Detroit suburb. Organizers of Community Unity Bancorp in Birmingham, Mich., applied on Jan. 12 with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for deposit insurance. “We will serve the banking needs of our market area through commercial lending […]
Bank-led group to mint, use USDF stablecoins
Five banks are part of a group formed to mint and use USDF stablecoins. The initial members of the USDF Consortium include New York Community Bank, NBH Bank, FirstBank, Sterling National Bank and Synovus Bank. Figure Technologies and JAM FINTOP, which are also among the founders, will facilitate and promote the adoption of USDF. Figure […]
Eastern Bank to sell cannibis-related business
Eastern Bankshares in Boston has agreed to sell its cannabis-related business to NB Financial in Needham, Mass. The $17 billion-asset Eastern said in a press release Friday that it will also sell the money service business deposit relationships obtained from its acquisition of Century Bancorp. The sale is expected to close in the first half […]
Merger in southern Illinois to create $1B asset bank
Midwest Community Bancshares in Marion, Ill., has agreed to buy Carbondale Investment in Carbondale, Ill. Midwest, the parent of the $781 million-asset First Southern Bank, said in a press release that it plans to buy the holding company for the $282 million-asset Bank of Carbondale in the second quarter. The price was not disclosed. Bank […]
Louisiana Bankers Association taps insider as next CEO
The Louisiana Bankers Association has a new CEO. The association said in a press release that its board had elected Ginger Laurent as its leader, effective Jan. 1. She succeeded Bob Taylor, who retired on Dec. 31 after serving as the association’s CEO since 2007. Laurent has been with the association for 22 years, including […]
Newly formed company plans to buy Florida bank
A newly formed company is looking to buy a bank in Dade City, Fla. Aiden Florida Bancshares in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., has agreed to buy a 65% to 80% stake in Florida Bancshares, the parent company of First National Bank of Pasco, according to a notice from Hovde Group. Hovde, which represented the $276 […]
Florida de novo Locality Bank to debut this week
Locality Bank, a de novo planned in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is set to debut on Wednesday. The proposed bank’s digital application will launch on that day, based on a press release announcing that organizers had surpassed the fund-raising goal set by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as part of the agency’s conditional approval. Locality raised […]
Civista to buy Comunibanc in northwest Ohio
Civista Bancshares in Sandusky, Ohio, has agreed to buy Comunibanc in Napoleon, Ohio. The $3 billion-asset Civista said in a press release Monday that it will pay $50.2 million in cash and stock for the $329 million-asset parent of Henry County Bank. The deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter, priced Communibanc […]
Republic seeking $5M termination fee from Green Dot
Republic Bancorp in Louisville, Ky., wants Green Dot to pay a $5 million termination fee tied to the termination of asset sale. The $6.2 billion-asset Republic agreed in May to sell its tax refund solutions business to Green Dot. Green Dot first delayed the closing in August, then terminated it in October after failing to […]
First Guaranty in La. makes push into Ky., W.Va.
First Guaranty Bancshares in Hammond, La., has hired 13 bankers for its push into Kentucky and West Virginia. The $2.8 billion-asset company said in a press release Monday that it hired Mike Mineer, a former president and CEO of Citizens Deposit Bank and Trust, to serve as its Mideast Market President. The hirings included five […]