OceanFirst to buy title insurance agency
OceanFirst Financial in Red Bank, N.J., has agreed to buy a title insurance agency. The $11.7 billion-asset company said in a press release Thursday that it will acquire a majority interest in Trident Abstract Title Agency. The deal is expected to close on March 1. The deal gives OceanFirst the option to buy 100% of […]
Minnesota de novo gets conditional FDIC approval
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has given conditional approval for a proposed bank in Bloomington, Minn. Organizers of EntreBank must raise $32 million before opening the bank, according to the FDIC’sJan. 27 approval. Organizers applied with the FDIC for deposit insurance in August. They changed the proposed bank’s name from Brava Bank to EntreBank. The […]
Kentucky First adds its former bank CEO to its board
Kentucky First Federal Bancorp in Frankfort has added a former CEO of its bank to its board. The $337 million-asset parent of First Federal Savings and Loan of Hazard said in a press release Wednesday that Lou Ella Farler is its newest director. Farler was president and CEO of First Federal from 2012 to 2018, […]
Austrian group agrees to buy Idaho bank
BAWAG Group in Vienna, Austria, has agreed to buy Peak Bancorp in McCall, Idaho. The $555 million-asset parent of Idaho First Bank said in a press release Wednesday that BAWAG is paying $65 million. BAWAG, which offer financial services in Europe through various brands and delivery channels, will work with the bank’s existing leadership team […]
Silvergate buys Diem-related assets for stablecoin push
Silvergate Capital in La Jolla, Calif., has acquired intellectual property and other technology assets tied to running a blockchain-based payment network from the Diem Group. Silvergate said in a press release Monday that it paid $182 million in cash and stock. The assets Silvergate bought included development, deployment and operations infrastructure, along with the tools […]
Republic First faces pressure from second investor group
A group with ties to Vernon Hill has suggested replacing him as CEO of Republic First Bancorp in Philadelphia. George Norcross III, Gregory Braca and Phillip Norcross suggested in a Jan. 31 letter to the $5.4 billion-asset company’s board that it should consider hiring Braca to replace Hill. Braca once served as president and CEO […]
Western Alliance buys fintech that serves legal industry
Western Alliance Bancorp in Phoenix has acquired a fintech that offers a digital payments platform for the class-action legal industry. The $50 billion-asset Western Alliance said in a press release that it had bought Digital Settlement Technologies in Los Angeles, which operates as Digital Disbursements. Western Alliance did not disclose the price it paid. Digital […]
ACNB in Pennsylvania to buy insurance agency
ACNB Corp. in Gettysburg, Pa., has agreed to buy an insurance agency in Gettysburg. The $2.8 billion-asset ACNB said in a press release Tuesday that it will buy Hockley & O’Donnell Insurance Agency. The deal is expected to close in the “near future,” the company said. ACNB did not disclose the price it will pay. “We […]
Freshly rebranded BayFirst names new bank president
BayFirst Financial in St. Petersburg, Fla., has a new bank president. The $917 million-asset company said in a press release Tuesday that Tom Zernick would be responsible for coordinating First Home Bank’s various business lines and for overseeing its delivery and support functions. Zernick has been president of CreditBench, the bank’s Small Business Administration lending […]
Southern Bancorp to buy fellow Arkansas bank
Southern Bancorp in Arkadelphia, Ark., has agreed to buy FCB Financial Services in Jonesboro, Ark. The $2.1 billion-asset Southern said in a press release Monday that it expects to buy the parent of the $200 million-asset Premier Bank of Arkansas in the second quarter. It did not disclose the price it will pay. The agreement […]
Heartland moving ahead with charter consolidation
Heartland Financial USA in Dubuque, Iowa, is moving ahead with a plan to consolidate its 11 bank charters. The $19.3 billion-asset company said in a press release Monday that the banks will collapse into a single Colorado-based charter. Each bank will operate under its own brand after the consolidation. The effort is expected to begin […]
Banner County in Nebraska to buy Wyoming bank
Banner County Ban Corp. in Harrisburg, Neb.., has agreed to buy Bankers Capital in Lusk, Wyo. The $228 million-asset Banner County said in a press release that it expects to complete the purchase of Bankers Capital and its $68 million-asset Lusk State Bank in the second quarter. Banner County did not disclose the price it […]
Midland States in Ill. to continue working with GreenSky
Midland States Bancorp in Effingham, Ill, will continue to work with GreenSky to develop a pipeline of consumer loans. The $7.4 billion-asset company said during its quarterly earnings call that the relationship will continue through at least 2023. GreenSky is being acquired by Goldman Sachs in a deal that is expected to close later this […]
Fed approves Old National-First Midwest merger
Old National Bancorp in Evansville, Ind., has received approval from the Federal Reserve to buy First Midwest Bancorp in Chicago. The Fed announced its approval of the $2.5 billion acquisition on Thursday. The $24.5 billion-asset Old National agreed in June to buy the $21.8 billion-asset First Midwest. The deal is expected to close by early […]
MVB in W.Va. promotes CFO to serve as president
MVB Financial in Fairmont, W.Va., has a new president. The $2.8 billion-asset company said in a press release Thursday that Donald Robinson had transitioned into the role. He will remain MVB’s chief financial officer as the company conducts a national search for a replacement. Robinson succeeded Larry Mazza, who will remain CEO. “To fully execute […]
HarborOne taps insider as next CEO
HarborOne Bancorp in Brockton, Mass., has lined up its next CEO. The $4.5 billion-asset company said in a press release Thursday that James Blake will retire, effective May 18. Joseph Casey, the company’s president and chief operating officer, will succeed Casey. Blake and Casey will remain on the company’s board. Blake joined HarborOne Bank – […]
Central Pacific discloses first BaaS client relationship
Central Pacific Financial in Honolulu provided more information on its new Banking-as-a-Service platform, which it plans to lean on for mainland expansion. The $7.4 billion-asset company said in a press release Wednesday that it will make an equity investment in Swell, a new fintech that will work with credit-constrained consumers. Central Pacific will also serve […]
Midland States expanding with deposits, loan purchase
Midland States Bancorp in Effingham, Ill., has agreed to buy deposits and loans from FNBC Bank & Trust in La Grange, Ill. The $7.1 billion-asset company said in press release Wednesday that it will buy $86 million of deposits and $26 million of loans tied to branches in Mokena and Yorkville, Ill. Midland States will […]
N.Y. bank merger delayed due to slow reg approval
Another bank merger is facing a delay tied to pending regulatory approval. Executives at Community Bank System in DeWitt, N.Y., said during a conference call to discuss quarterly earnings that they expect the acquisition of Elmira Savings Bank to close in May. The companies originally forecast a first-quarter completion. The revised guidance resulting from “the […]
Customers to let BM Technologies deposit pact end
Customers Bancorp in West Reading, Pa., will let its deposit servicing agreement with BM Technologies lapse at the end of this year. The $19.6 billion-asset company said in a press release Monday that the agreement, tied to its January 2021 divestiture of BankMobile Technologies, will save it about $60 million a year. Customers expects about […]
Zions reports $12M gain tied to new tech campus
Zions Bancorp. in Salt Lake City is close to opening a new corporate technology center. The $93 billion-asset company said in a press release Monday that it should occupy the building in mid-2022. The move allowed Zions to consolidate and sell a number of bank-owned facilities. The sales were largely responsible for $12 million in […]
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 […]