Camino Financial to buy online lender Fundation
Camino Financial in Los Angeles has agreed to buy Fundation in Reston, Va., in a merger of online small business lenders. The deal is being led by private equity firm LL Funds, with further funding from BankUnited and Community Investment Management. They are providing $250 million of equity and debt. Fundation has a focus on […]
Republic First reaches truces with vocal activist investor group
Republic First Bancorp in Philadelphia has reached a truce with an activist investor by involving them in a planned capital raise and reconstituting its board. The $6.2 billion-asset Republic said in a press release that George Norcross III, Gregory Braca and Philip Norcross will invest $35 million in the company. Republic will raise at least […]
Peoples Financial to buy FNCB Bancorp in Pennsylvania
Peoples Financial Services in Scranton, Pa., has agreed to buy FNCB Bancorp in Dunmore, Pa. The $3.7 billion-asset Peoples said in a press release that it will buy the $1.9 billion-asset FNCB for $129 million in stock. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2024. Peoples will remain headquartered in Scranton, […]
Carver in New York facing hostile takeover bid
Carver Bancorp in New York, one of the nation’s biggest black-run banks, is facing a hostile takeover. Dream Chasers Capital Group, which owns a 5.5% stake in the $712 million-asset Carver, said in a press release that it had offered to boost its stake to 35%. The investor offered $3 a share, a 39% premium […]
Former MBNA, Allfirst exec Frank Bramble dies
Former MBNA executive Frank Bramble has died. Bramble, who was executive vice chairman of the monoline credit card company when it was sold to Bank of America in 2006, had a heart attack, according to the Baltimore Sun. He was 75. Bramble was still serving as a director at Bank of America, a post he […]
Washington Trust in RI settles DoJ fair lending case
Washington Trust Bancorp in Westerly, R.I., has reached a settlement with the Justice Department over claims its bank violated fair lending laws. The $7 billion-asset company said in a press release that the settlement addressed violations that allegedly took place between 2016 and 2021. Washington Trust denied the allegations, stating that it entered into the […]
MidWestOne in Iowa to buy Denver Bankshares
MidWestOne Financial Group in Iowa City has agreed to buy Denver Bankshares a day after agreeing to sell its Florida operations. The $6.5 billion-asset company said in a press release that it will pay $32.6 million in cash for the parent of the $271.5 million-asset Bank of Denver. The deal, which is expected to close […]
River Financial in Ala. raises $33M via private placement
River Financial in Prattville, Ala., raised $32.9 million through a private placement of common stock. The $3.1 billion-asset company sold shares to 312 investors on Sept. 12, according to a notice of exempt offering of securities. Performance Trust Capital Partners also reported the offering. The pricing and plans for using net proceeds weren’t disclosed. River […]
MidWestOne in Iowa selling Fla. ops to credit union
MidWestOne Financial Group in Iowa City has agreed to sell its Florida operations to DFCU Financial in Dearborn, Mich. The $6.5 billion-asset MidWestOne said in a press release that the $6.4 billion-asset credit union will pay a 7.5% premium, or $11.9 million, for the transfer of $158.8 million of deposits. The sale also includes two […]
HomeStreet rejected ‘inadequate’ offer for DUS license
HomeStreet in Seattle rejected an unsolicited offer to buy its Fannie Mae delegated underwriting and servicing (DUS) license. The $9.5 billion-asset company recently received a nonbinding offer to acquire the license, along with its $32 million loan servicing portfolio, for $57 million, Chairman and CEO Mark Mason divulged in a letter to shareholders. HomeStreet’s […]
Investor group looks to buy, rebrand Michigan bank
An investor group is looking to buy First State Bank of Decatur in Michigan. A group led by Gregg Bigger has applied to buy the $54 million-asset bank, according to the Traverse Ticker. They plan to rebrand First State as Grand Traverse State Bank. The group must raise $14.5 million by early November to move […]
Dutch fintech bunq applies to open U.S. bank
Dutch neobank bunq BV has applied to open a bank in the U.S. The bank applied with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Thursday for deposit insurance for bung US Bank, which would be based in New York. Bunq, which applied for a U.S. bank license earlier this year, would be regulated by the Office […]
Plains State in Texas buys wealth management business
Plains State Bank in Humble, Texas, bought a wealth management and tax business. The $780 million-asset bank said in a press release that it bought Core+ Financial Strategies and Core+ Tax Strategies. The pricing wasn’t disclosed. “The principals at Core+ have been helping clients with investment planning for many years,” Lori Hilman, Plains State’s president […]
Republic First again delays 2022 annual meeting
Republic First Bancorp in Philadelphia will delay its 2022 annual meeting again. The $6.2 billion-asset company disclosed in a regulatory filing that its board moved the meeting from Oct. 5 to Dec. 19. The annual meeting was originally scheduled January after an investigation into certain third-party transactions kept the board from setting a date. A […]
Mass. mutuals to merge under a single holding company
Cape Cod 5 in Hyannis, Mass., and Fidelity Bank in Leominster, Mass., are merging under the same holding company. The $5.5 billion-asset Cape Cod 5 and the $1.5 billion-asset Fidelity said in a press release that they will operate independently as part of Mutual Bancorp. The mutuals have a combined total of 39 branches. Matt […]
Nebraska, N.J. banks share updates on mutual conversions
Central Plains Bancshares in Grand Island, Neb., and SR Bancorp in Bound Brook, N.J., are progressing with their mutual conversions. The $438 million-asset Central Plains said in a press release that it completed the subscription offering for its mutual-to-stock conversion. Given “sufficient orders,” Central Plains said a community offering or syndicated offering isn’t necessary. Separately, […]
Atlantic Union in Va. announces sale-leaseback agreement
Atlantic Union Bankshares in Richmond, Va., has sold 27 properties in Virginia as part of a sale-leaseback transaction. The $20.6 billion-asset company disclosed in a regulatory filing that it sold 25 branches, a drive through and a parking lot to an affiliate of Blue Owl Capital for $45.8 million. Atlantic Union agreed to lease the […]
Merchants & Marine expanding in La. with bank purchase
Merchants & Marine Bancorp in Pascagoula, Miss., has agreed to buy Mississippi River Bank in Belle Chasse, La. The $659 million-asset Merchants & Marine said in a press release that it expects to complete its purchase of the $128 million-asset Mississippi River Bank in the first quarter. The price wasn’t disclosed. Mississippi River Bank will […]
ICBA-backed fund invests in wholesale financing fintech
BankTech Ventures, an investment vehicle backed by several community banks, has invested in Vero Technologies, a wholesale financing and loan servicing platform. Vero said in a press release that it raised $8.5 million of Series A funding led by BankTech Ventures. Other participants included the Independent Community Bankers of America, Sopra Steria Ventures, Antler, Arcadia Funds and AAF […]
Glen Burnie Bancorp in Maryland hires next CEO
Glen Burnie Bancorp in Glen Burnie, Md., has lined up its next CEO. The $364 million-asset Glen Burnie said in a press release that Mark Hanna will join the company as an executive vice president on Oct. 2. He will succeed John Long as president and CEO on Oct. 16. Long had announced […]
Eastern in Boston buying Cambridge, selling insurance unit
Eastern Bankshares in Boston has agreed to buy Cambridge Bancorp in Cambridge, Mass., and sell its own insurance unit to Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. The $22 billion-asset Eastern said in a press release that it will pay $528 million in stock for the $5.5 billion-asset Cambridge. The deal, which is expected to close in […]
Proposed NJ bank would focus on Sikh-American needs
A group of Sikh-Americans is looking to form a bank in New Jersey that would serve their community. The proposed Five Rivers Bank in Paramus, N.J., would be state-chartered, according to organizers’ application with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The group plans to raise $33.5 million to $43.5 million in initial capital. While Five Rivers […]
Oklahoma State Bank rebrands as Prism Bank
Oklahoma State Bank in Guthrie has a new name. The $274 million-asset bank said in a press release that it had rebranded as Prism Bank. The bank said its new name represents the full spectrum of services it provides. “The decision to rebrand was driven by our commitment to serve our customers and to adapt […]
Glacier’s latest acquisition has creative employment pact
The leader of Community Financial Group will defer most compensation tied to the Spokane, Wash., company’s pending sale to Glacier Bancorp in hopes of increasing the odds of its shareholders getting a special dividend. The $27.5 billion-asset Glacier, which is based in Kalispell, Mont., agreed on Aug. 8 to buy the $754 million-asset parent of Wheatland […]
Pennsylvania CUSO invests in fintech CryptoFi
CU Digital One, a credit union service organization created by Frankenmuth Credit Union in Michigan, has made its first fintech investment. The CUSO said in a press release that it made “a multi-million dollar investment” in CryptoFi, which provides cryptocurrency-based financial services for credit unions. The investment will be used to accelerate the growth and […]