Fidelity in N.C. to expand in Georgia with Affinity acquisition
Fidelity BancShares in Fuquay-Varina, N.C., has agreed to buy Affinity Bancshares in Covington, Ga. The $4.6 billion-asset Fidelity said in a press release that it will pay $142.8 million in cash for the $882 million-asset Affinity. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter. “The acquisition “brings together two community‑focused organizations that share […]
Carter Bankshares in Va. unloads loans tied to Sen. Jim Justice
Carter Bankshares in Martinsville, Va., has severed ties with its biggest and most problematic business relationships. The $4.9 billion-asset company disclosed in a regulatory filing that it sold a batch of nonperforming loans connected to Sen. Jim Justice (R-W.Va.) and his family. Carter said it sold loans with an aggregate principal amount of roughly $209.5 […]
Heritage Bank in Minnesota taps COO to become new leader
Heritage Bank in Willmar, Minn., has a new leader. The bank said that Robert Mathiasen will become its CEO on April 1. Mathiasen, who is chief operating officer, will succeed Tom Geiger, who will remain chairman. “I am deeply honored to carry forward the Geiger family’s philosophy of banking,” Mathiasen said in a press release. […]
Riverview in Washington sells lower-yielding securities
Riverview Bancorp in Vancouver, Wash., sells a large batch of securities. The $1.5 billion-asset company said in a press release that it sold $149.3 million in lower-yielding investment securities at an estimated pretax loss of $11.4 million. The move happened after Riverview reclassified all of its bonds as available-for-sale. Riverview said it expects to reinvest […]
Plaid buys This Week in Fintech media platform
Plaid bought media platform This Week in Fintech. Plaid announced the acquisition in a LinkedIn post. The price wasn’t disclosed. “We are huge fans of what TWIF has evolved into, and plan to help it grow with more resources, more formats, and more ways for the community to connect — all while preserving the editorial […]
Proposed digital bank VALT secures conditional OCC approval
Organizers of the proposed VALT Bank have received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The group must raise $25 million before opening its national trust bank. VALT must maintain a 9% tier 1 leverage ratio for its first three years. The group, consisting of U.S. Bancorp veterans, applied to regulators […]
Payments CUSO Valera sets date for CEO succession
Velera, a large payments-oriented credit union service organization, has a new leader lined up. The Tampa, Fla., CUSO said in a press release that Brian Caldarelli will become president and CEO when Chuck Fagan retires on Sept. 30. Fagan has led the group since the January 2024 combination of PSCU and Co-op Solutions. Caldarelli has […]
AI-focused fintech Spade raises $40 million in latest funding round
Spade, a fintech that leverages data and AI to improve how financial institutions use transaction data, raised $40 million in Series B funding. The fintech said in a press release that the round was led by Oak HC/FT with participation by Andreessen Horowitz, Flourish, Gradient, NAventures, National Bank of Canada’s corporate venture arm, and Y […]
Organizers apply to form de novo banks in Florida, Utah
Organizers have submitted applications to open banks in Florida and Utah. A group in Coral Gables, Fla., applied to create Tidestone Bank. The application wasn’t immediately available, but a public notice submitted in conjunction with the application lists eight founders: Fernando Monasterio, Ernesto Monasterio, Osvaldo Monasterio, Carlos Krutzfeldt, Louis Ferreira, Christopher Avila, Alba Prestamo and […]
Profile Bank in N.H. taps insider as next CEO
Profile Bank in Rochester, N.H., has a new leader. Kevin Miller posted on LinkedIn that he was named president and CEO of the $314 million-asset bank. “What an honor it is for me to lead such an accomplished group of banking professionals,” Miller wrote. “I am so excited to see everything that our tremendous team […]
Fifth Third to invest $3M in Clearinghouse CDFI
Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati will invest $3 million in Clearinghouse CDFI in Lake Forest, Calif. Clearinghouse CDFI said in a press release that proceeds from the Class A equity investment will help it make more loans for projects that could include multifamily affordable housing, commercial real estate, small businesses, and community facilities. The investment […]
VersaBank in Canada to sell Minnesota branch back to Stearns Bank
VersaBank in Canada has agreed to sell its branch in Holdingford, Minn., to Stearns Bank. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has already approved the sale. VersaBank obtained the bank when it bought Stearns Bank Holdingford in 2024. The sale is expected to close in the second quarter. The price wasn’t disclosed. The […]
Eagle Bancorp in Maryland to face proxy fight
Eagle Bancorp in Bethesda, Md., is facing a board challenge from an activist investor. Diligence Capital Management said it plans to nominate three directors to run for seats at Eagle’s upcoming annual meeting. Diligence was founded by James Abbott, who recently oversaw investor relations at Zions Bancorp. Diligence also wants the board to make swift […]
Zions to buy agency lending business from Basis Multifamily Finance
Zions Bancorp. in Salt Lake City agreed to buy the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lending business of Basis Multifamily Finance I. The $89 billion-asset Zions said in a press release that the deal includes an experienced team, access to agency lending programs, and all associated mortgage servicing rights. Zions and Basis entered into a […]
Heritage Financial in Wash. discloses cybersecurity incident
Heritage Financial in Olympia, Wash., disclosed that it detected a cybersecurity incident in early March involving an internal file share server used by employees. The company said in a regulatory filing that it detected “the exfiltration of files” from the share server that may contain personal data. The bank’s customer accounts, customer systems and operations […]
Oregon Coast Bank to buy Connect Community in Washington
Oregon Coast Bank in Newport has agreed to buy Connect Community Bank in Raymond, Wash. The $449.6 million-asset Oregon Coast said in a press release that it plans to buy the $76.7 million-asset Connect in the second quarter. The price wasn’t disclosed. “Our mission has always been to provide common sense, relationship-driven banking focused on […]
UBS received OCC approval for national bank charter
UBS has received final approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a national bank charter. “This milestone really positions us well for the next phase of growth as we work to strengthen our U.S. banking platform and enhance how we will be able to serve our clients and advisers,” Rob Karofsky, […]
Citizens Bank of Las Cruces in New Mexico hires outsider as new CEO
Citizens Bank of Las Cruces in New Mexico has a new leader. The $1.1 billion-asset bank said in a LinkedIn post that Travis Hillman had become its president and CEO. Hillman’s profile also listed him as president of Amador Banc Shares. Hillman, who was a market president at Community National Bank in Midland, Texas, succeeded […]
First State Bancorp in Missouri to buy Senath State Bank
First State Bancorp in Caruthersville, Mo., has agreed to buy Senath Bancshares in Senath, Mo. The holding company for the $642 million-asset First State Bank and Trust did not disclose how much it will pay for the parent of the $105.6 million-asset Senath State Bank. Performance Trust Capital Partners and Polsinelli advised First State. Friday Eldredge […]
Midwest Heritage to buy Iowa Savings Bank
Midwest Heritage in West Des Moines, Iowa, has agreed to buy Iowa Savings Bank in Carroll. Jeremy Gosch, chairman and CEO of Hy-Vee Company, disclosed the acquisition of the $290.4 million-asset Iowa Savings in a LinkedIn post. The acquisition would be the first for the $491.6 million-asset Midwest, which is a part of Hy-Vee. The […]
Landmark Credit Union to buy Illinois branch from North Shore Bank
Landmark Credit Union in Milwaukee has agreed to buy a branch in McHenry, Ill., from North Shore Bank. The $7 billion-asset credit union said in a press release that it will also buy the deposits. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter. The price wasn’t disclosed. The branch had $28.5 million in […]
Carver in N.Y. swapping common stock for trust preferred securities
Carver Bancorp in New York has agreed to exchange common stock so it can cancel trust preferred securities. The company said in a press release that it will issue 524,826 shares of common stock to institutional holders in exchange for trust preferred securities with more than $1 million in interest obligations. The move is designed […]
Lake Shore in N.Y. strikes truce with activist investor Stilwell Group
Stilwell Group will appoint a director to join the board of Lake Shore Bancorp after the activist investor and Dunkirk, N.Y., company reached a truce. Lake Shore disclosed in a regulatory filing that Dennis Pollack will become a director as part of a standstill agreement between the parties. The agreement will remain in effect until […]
Independent Bank to buy HCB in Michigan bank merger
Independent Bank in Grand Rapids, Mich., has agreed to buy HCB Financial in Hastings, Mich. The $5.5 billion-asset Independent said in a press release that it will pay $70.2 million in cash and stock for the $590 million-asset HCB. The deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter, priced HCB at 148% of […]
Community Bankers Association of Kansas looking for next CEO
The Community Bankers Association of Kansas is looking for its next leader. The association said in a press release that Shawn Mitchell will retire as its president and CEO at the end of this year. The association said that it is searching for his replacement with the Independent Community Bankers of America. Mitchell joined the […]