Mass. mutuals River Run Bancorp, Rollstone Bancorp to merge
River Run Bancorp in Newburyport, Mass., is planning to merge with Rollstone Bancorp in Fitchburg, Mass. The $2.6 billion-asset River Run said in a press release it plans to absorb the $900 million-asset Rollstone in the first half of next year. The mutuals did not disclose the merger’s terms. “As community banks face challenges that […]
How Bank Director’s AOBA conference spurred big bank merger
Discussions between WesBanco in Wheeling, W.Va., and Premier Financial in Defiance, Ohio seemingly began at the Acquire or Be Acquired conference hosted by Bank Director. The $18.1 billion-asset WesBanco agreed in July to buy the $8.8 billion-asset Premier for $959 million in a deal expected to close in the first quarter. Talks began on Jan. […]
NASB Financial in Mo. lines up new CEO for 2025
NASB Financial in Kansas City, Mo., will have a new leader in 2025. The parent of the $2.8 billion-asset North American Savings Bank said in a press release that Tom Wagers will retire in January. He will be succeeded by Enrique Venegas, who was recently promoted to serve as president. Wagers will remain on the […]
Georgia grants Fiserv special charter to handle card transactions
The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance approved Fiserv’s application for a special banking charter that gives it direct access to card networks. The Brookfield, Wis., payments company, by obtaining the merchant acquirer limited purpose bank charter, no longer needs to partner with banks to process credit card transactions. The charter gives Fiserv the right […]
Territorial in Hawaii delays investor vole on sale to Hope Bancorp
Territorial Bancorp in Honolulu, which is facing pressure from an unsolicited offer, has postponed a shareholder vote for its pending sale to Hope Bancorp in Los Angeles. The $2.2 billion-asset company said in a press release that it will move the meeting from Oct. 10 to Nov. 6 to give its board and management time […]
Education First FCU removes ‘interim’ from CEO’s title
Education First Federal Credit Union in Beaumont, Texas, has a new CEO. Urjit Patel announced on his LinkedIn account that he had also become president of the $tk billion-asset credit union. Patel, who had been acting president and CEO, previously served as the credit union’s chief operating officer.
OneAZ-1st Bank of Yuma sets annual record for credit union-bank mergers
OneAZ Credit Union in Phoenix has agreed to buy 1st Bank of Yuma in Arizona. The $3.6 billion-asset credit union said in a press release that it will by substantially all of the $600 million-asset bank’s assets and liabilities from Western Arizona Bancorp in a cash transaction. The price wasn’t disclosed. The deal is expected […]
Coastal in Wash. hires fintech vet to run BaaS division
Coastal Financial in Everett, Wash., has a new president for its fintech and Banking-as-a-Service division. The $4 billion-asset company said in a press release that it bifurcated the bank president role by appointing Brian Hamilton, a Coastal director, to lead CCBX. Curt Queyrouze, president of the company and the bank, will serve as president of […]
CU WealthNext invests in fractional real estate investing platform Concreit
CU WealthNext, a credit union-owned fintech, has invested in Concreit, a fractional real estate investing platform. CU WealthNext, which did not disclose the size of its investment, said in a press release that Concreit is preparing to pilot its platform with credit unions. The investment “is a key milestone in our journey to deliver affordable, […]
TruWest Credit Union in Ariz. selects insider as its new CEO
TruWest Credit Union in Scottsdale, Ariz., has a new CEO. The $1.8 billion-asset credit union said in a press release that Chris Kearney succeeded Alan Althouse, who retired. Kearney will remain TruWest’s president. Kearney has been president and chief information officer since 2023. “Chris has consistently demonstrated his ability to drive innovation and inspire our […]
Proxy adviser ISS: Territorial investors should reject sale to Hope Bancorp
Institutional Shareholder Services has recommended that Territorial Bancorp shareholders reject the Honolulu company’s pending sale to Hope Bancorp in Los Angeles. The proxy advisory firm also made comments supportive of an unsolicited bid for the $2.2 billion-asset Territorial by a group that includes banking veteran Allan Landon and Blue Hill Advisors. “Given the lack of […]
Proposed Sikh-focused bank gains FDIC conditional approval
Five Rivers Bank, a proposed de novo being formed by a group of Sikh-Americans, has gained conditional approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The Paramus, N.J., group applied with the FDIC in September 2023. The agency is requiring organizers to raise $33.5 million before the bank can open. While Five Rivers would focus on […]
First Foundation in Dallas sets stage to sell $1.9M of multifamily loans
First Foundation in Dallas has begun the process of purging multifamily loans from its balance sheet. The $13.6 billion-asset company said in a press release that it reclassified about $1.9 million of loans from held to maturity to held for sale. The company said it expects fair-value pricing for the loans to surpass 92% based […]
Affordable housing loan servicer gains BHC for planned Illinois bank deal
AmeriNational Community Services in Albert Lea, Minn., received Federal Reserve approval to form a bank holding company so it can buy Northwest Bancorp. of Illinois in Palatine. AmeriNational, an economic development and affordable housing loan servicer, applied with the Fed late last year as part of its plan to buy the parent of the $215 […]
Abri Credit Union in Ill. promotes executive to serve as CEO
Abri Credit Union in Romeoville, Ill., has a new CEO. The $400 million-asset Abri said in a press release that Colleen Brooks had also become its president. Brooks, who was the credit union’s senior vice president of administration, succeeded Brian Cedergren, who retired. “I am profoundly grateful to our board … for their confidence as […]
Zions’ unit to buy four Calif. branches from FirstBank in Colo.
Zions Bancorp. in Salt Lake City has agreed to buy four California branches from FirstBank in Lakewood, Colo. Zions’ subsidiary California Bank & Trust will also gain about $730 million in deposits and $420 million in loans from the branches, which are located in the Coachella Valley. The transaction is expected to close in the […]
JD Bancshares in Louisiana selects insider as its new president
JD Bancshares in Jennings, La., has a president. The $1.2 billion-asset company said in a press release that Paul Brummett II had also become CEO of JD Bank. He also joined the boards of the company and the bank. Brummet, who has been chief financial officer, succeeded Bruce Elder, who has led the company since […]
SVB Financial sells investment platform SVB Capital
SVB Financial Group in Santa Clara, Calif., sold its investment platform business. The former holding company to Silicon Valley Bank, which failed last year, said in a press release that it sold SVB Capital to affiliates of Pinegrove Capital Partners, backed by evergreen capital from Brookfield Asset Management and Sequoia Heritage. The consideration included cash […]
CNB Community Bancorp in Mich. buying $5.6M of stock via tender offer
CNB Community Bancorp in Hillsdale, Mich., will buy 145,000 shares of its common stock after completing a tender offer. The $1.2 billion-asset company said in a press release that it paid about $5.6 million, or $38.50 a share, for the tendered shares. The stock represented about 6.5% of the company’s shares outstanding. Overall, shareholders were […]
Interstate Bank in Texas taps insider as new CEO
Interstate Bank in Perryton, Texas, has a new leader. The $264 million-asset bank said in a press release that Blair Berg had become its chairman and CEO. Berg, who was the bank’s chief financial officer, succeeded Danny Skarda, who retired. Skarda had been CEO since 1981.
Digital Federal Credit Union, First Tech unveil large merger
Digital Federal Credit Union in Marlborough, Mass., and First Tech Federal Credit Union in San Jose, Calif., are planning a merger of equals that would create one of the nation’s biggest credit unions. The $12 billion-asset Digital FCU and the $17 billion-asset First Tech said in a press release that they plan to complete their […]
Territorial in Hawaii again rejects unsolicated investor bid
Territorial Bancorp in Honolulu doubled down on its commitment to selling itself to Hope Bancorp in Los Angeles despite an increased offer from a shareholder group. The $2.2 billion-asset Territorial said in a press release that the offer from a group led by Allan Landon and Blue Hill Advisors has “so many unanswered questions” and […]
Byline to buy First Security Bancorp in Illinois
Byline Bancorp in Chicago has agreed to buy First Security Bancorp in Elmwook Park, Ill. The $9.6 billion-asset Byline said in a press release that it will pay $41 million in cash and stock for the $355 million-asset First Security. The deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter, priced First Security at […]
Ponce Financial in New York opens Florida office
Ponce Financial Group in New York has expanded into Florida. The company said in a press release that it opened a representative office in Coral Gables. Jay Sanchez will split time between New Jersey and Florida as the new office’s customer relationship officer. “Many of our customers have businesses in Florida or spend their winter […]
Fiserv, Wells Fargo set to end merchant services joint venture
Wells Fargo in San Francisco and Fiserv in Milwaukee are planning to end joint venture Wells Fargo Merchant Services. Fiserv disclosed in a regulatory filing that it expects to record a noncash impairment charge in the third quarter. The company, which inherited a 40% stake in the WFMS from its 2019 purchase of First Data, […]