Umpqua in Oregon opens CRE office in Denver
Umpqua Holdings in Portland, Ore., has opened a commercial real estate lending office in Denver. The $30.1 billion-asset company said in a press release Tuesday that it had opened the office after hiring Todd Grover as its Colorado market leader. “Todd is a tremendous CRE professional with a strong reputation for his leadership, customer-focused service […]
Highland in Minn. to buy Boundary Waters Bank
Highland Bank in St. Paul, Minn., has agreed to buy Boundary Waters Bank in Ely, Minn. The $630 million-asset Highland said in a press release that it expects to buy the $115 million-asset Boundary Waters by the end of this year. The price wasn’t disclosed. “This merger presented an ideal opportunity to expand our organization, […]
American Challenger sues Credit Suisse over nixed merger
American Challenger Development has filed a lawsuit against Credit Suisse and its Cayman Islands branch for their alleged role in the digital bank having to terminate a planned merger with Patriot National Bancorp in Stamford, Conn. The $976 million-asset Patriot National agreed in November to buy American Challenger for $119 million in a deal structured […]
Truist gaining new tech capabilities through M&A
Truist Financial in Charlotte, N.C., has agreed to buy a data governance platform from Zaloni. The $545 billion-asset Truist said in a press release Monday that it will acquire the Zaloni Arena platform, which will also help the company accelerate its expansion into metadata management, advanced analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). Ben […]
Southern First in S.C. taps insider as president
Southern First Bancshares in Greenville, S.C., has a new president. The $3.3 billion-asset company said in a press release Monday that Cal Hurst had taken on the role. He previously served as chief banking officer. “Cal’s charismatic leadership has been integral to our continued growth and strong company culture,” Art Seaver, the company’s CEO, said […]
Westpac, BankSouth invest in AI company
Westpac Banking in Australia and BankSouth in Greensboro, Ga., participated in the latest round of fund-raising for Kasisto, a New York company that developed a virtual assistant the banks use. Kasisto, which specializes in conversational artificial intelligence (AI), raised $15.5 million in the funding round, which was led by Westpac and FIS. Kasisto raised $15.5 […]
ICBA opposes Ford’s application to form an ILC
The Independent Community Bankers of America has voiced its opposition to Ford Credit Bank becoming an industrial loan company. Ford Motor Co. applied for the ILC in late July. The ICBA, which has for years opposed the ILC, argued that approving the application would let Ford “skirt regulatory oversight and violate longstanding U.S. policy separating […]
First Bancshares in Miss. combines chairman, CEO roles
First Bancshares in Hattiesburg, Miss., has consolidated the titles of chairman and CEO. The $6 billion-asset company said in a press release Friday that CEO Hoppy Cole had also become its chairman. He succeeded E. Ricky Gibson, who remains on the board. Ted Parker was named lead independent director. Gibson “has been an integral part […]
Simmons in Ark. hires banker to work on its CRA plan
Simmons First National in Pine Bluff, Ark., has hired an executive to oversee the delivery of its Community Reinvestment Act plan. The $27.2 billion-asset company said in a press release Friday that Maurice Butler was named director of community development. Butler will also be responsible for developing products and solutions designed to support the needs […]
GreenState CU walks away from planned bank purchase
Another credit union has called off a proposed bank acquisition after hitting a roadblock. The board of the $10.6 billion-asset GreenState Credit Union in North Liberty, Iowa, has decided to give up on trying to buy the $369 million-asset Premier Bank, according to the Credit Union Times. A judge decided earlier this month that the […]
Ponce in N.Y. launches ESG initiative
Ponce Financial Group in Bronx, N.Y., has formed an environmental, social and governance (ESG) committee. The $1.7 billion-asset company said the committee is comprised of the executive management team that reports directly to the board. Frank Perez, who was recently named chief investor relations officer, will lead the initiative. The committee has adopted an ESG […]
United Community adds former Truist exec to its board
United Community Banks in Greenville, S.C., has added a former Truist Financial executive to its board. The $24.2 billion-asset company said in a press release Thursday that George Bell had become a director. Bell recently served as software engineering group head at Truist. He also worked at Truist predecessor BB&T and Bank of America. Bell […]
Puerto Rico de novo identifies proposed CEO
Organizers of the proposed Nave Bank in San Juan, Puerto Rico, have tapped a veteran banker to serve as its chairman and CEO. The group disclosed in an amended application with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. that Carlos Garcia would also serve as chairman and CEO of Nave Holdings, the bank’s proposed holding company. Garcia, […]
TowneBank to buy Farmers Bankshares in Virginia
TowneBank in Suffolk, Va., has agreed to buy Farmers Bankshares in Windsor, Va. The $16.9 billion-asset TowneBank said in a press release Thursday that it will pay $56 million in stock for the $609 million-asset Farmers. The deal, which is expected to close in the first quarter, priced Farmers at 196% of its tangible book […]
Northwest in Ohio names permanent CEO
Northwest Bancshares in Columbus, Ohio, has a new CEO. The $14 billion-asset company said in a press release Thursday that Louis Torchio will also serve as its president. Torchio, who joined the company in 2018, recently served as senior executive vice president of retail lending and business banking. Before he joined Northwest, Torchio held senior […]
BofA overdraft fees down 90% from year earlier
Bank of America in Charlotte, N.C., said its overdraft-service fees in June and July fell by 90% from a year earlier, reflecting policies designed to back off of such charges. The $2.2 trillion-asset BofA said in a Wednesday press release that consumer client overdraft fees made up less than 0.4% of its total revenue in […]
Live Oak in N.C. set to benefit from Payrailz sale
Live Oak Bancshares in Wilmington, N.C., is set to benefit from the pending sale of Payrailz to Jack Henry & Associates. The $9.1 billion-asset Live Oak disclosed in a regulatory filing that it expects to report a $29 million pretax gain tied to its investment in Payrailz. The gain would be recorded when the acquisition […]
Proposed N.H. mutual hits capital goal
The organizers of Walden Mutual Bank in Concord, N.H., has exceeded its capital goal. The group said in an email that they have secured more than $20 million of commitments. The plan is to open the mutual in late summer. Walden has received approval from the New Hamphsire Banking Department but it still needs a […]
BOK Financial taps new CEO for Bank of Texas
BOK Financial in Tulsa, Okla., has named a new CEO for Bank of Texas. The $45 billion-asset company said in a press release Wednesday that Mark Wade will take over the post on Jan. 1. He will succeed Norm Bagwell, who previously announced plans to retire. “Norm Bagwell has been an important part of our […]
Republic First: Review of related-party dealings completed
Republic First Bancorp in Philadelphia is one step closer to getting caught up on its regulatory filings. The $5.7 billion-asset company said in a press release that Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, an outside firm, has completed its review of related-party transactions, certain internal controls and “associated financial statement and disclosure implications.” The results […]
Former Eagle Bancorp CEO barred from banking industry
Ronald Paul, who abruptly stepped down as chairman and CEO of Eagle Bancorp in Bethesda, Md., in 2019, has been barred from the banking industry. The Federal Reserve also fined Paul $90,000 after the former executive agreed to resolve claims he and the $10.9 billion-asset Eagle made negligently false and misleading statements about related-party loans tied to his […]
First Horizon sells title insurance subsidiary
First Horizon in Memphis, Tenn., has sold its title insurance subsidiary. The $43.7 billion-asset company sold Lenders Title Group to Knox-Precision Holdings. The price wasn’t disclosed. “Our historical success is due to the hard work and dedication of our title associates and the confidence our clients have in us, all backed by the support of […]
M&T hires BofA exec as its chief digital officer
M&T Bank in Buffalo, N.Y., has hired an executive from Bank of America to become its chief digital officer. The $204 billion-asset M&T said in a press release Tuesday that Ishet Dhar will focus on the role digital plays in creating simple, differentiated experiences for clients and employees. He will report to Christopher Kay, M&T’s […]
Central Bank of Kansas City spins off payments business
Central Bank of Kansas City in Missouri has spun off its payments and card-issuing platform after the business raised $30 million. Central Payments, founded in 2014 as part of the $350 million-asset Central, said in a press release that it raised funds from investors that include Castle Creek Capital and Launchpad Capital. Central will remain […]
ICBA-backed firm BankTech Ventures closes first fund
BankTech Ventures in Sandy, Utah, has closed on its first fund after bringing in more than $115 million in capital commitments. BankTech said in a press release Monday that the initial round included more than 100 limited partners, comprised almost entirely of community banks. The firm has made eight investments since its first closing in […]