First Guaranty in La. hit with credit-related consent order
First Guaranty Bancshares in Hammond, La., has entered into a consent order with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Louisiana Office of Financial Institutions directed toward addressing credit issues. The $4.1 billion-asset company disclosed the enforcement action in a regulatory filing. The order stems from an examination conducted in mid-2025 and covers a broad […]
BofA to pay up to $1.9 billion for stake in Indian lender
Bank of America in Charlotte, N.C., has agreed to buy up to a 49.9% stake in a lending business in a joint with Jio Financial Services in Mumbai, India. BofA will pay up to $1.9 billion, in the form of equity shares and warrants, for a stake in Jio Credit, a digital-first lender with $3.2 […]
Blue Ridge in Virginia widens 2Q loss on troubled loan
Blue Ridge Bankshares in Charlottesville, Va., booked a bigger second-quarter loss than it initially reported after increasing reserves on a problem loan. The $2.3 billion-asset company said in a press release that it lost $1.3 million in the second quarter, compared with the $200,000 loss it originally disclosed in late July. The company had previously […]
HBT to buy Tri-County Financial in Illinois for $205 million
HBT Financial in Bloomington, Ill., has agreed to buy Tri-County Financial Group in Mendota, Ill. The $6.7 billion-asset HBT said in a press release that it will pay $204.6 million in cash and stock for the $1.6 billion-asset Tri-County. The deal, which priced Tri-County at 131% of its tangible book value, is expected to close […]
CCBank in Utah rebranding as Accordia Bank
CCBank in Pleasant Grove, Utah, and its mortgage subsidiary are rebranding. The bank and Security Home Mortgage will rebrand as Accordia Bank and Accordia Mortgage. The change “is a strategic marketing and brand decision driven by … significant growth,” the bank said. “Recognizing that the organization had outgrown its current name, leadership initiated a rebrand […]
OCC denies bunq’s application to charter a U.S. national bank
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has rejected an application from Dutch fintech bunq to launch a national bank in the U.S., citing capital, management, and safety-and-soundness concerns that spanned nearly every factor regulators weigh in chartering decisions. The application, filed under the proposed name bunq US Bank, was sponsored by Bunq US […]
Great Lakes Credit Union in Ill. backs data integration CUSO
Great Lakes Credit Union in Bannockburn, Ill., has invested in Nook, a credit union service organization (CUSO) that provides data integration, member relationship management, and engagement technology for credit unions. Nook said the investment will support development of its data infrastructure and technology. The amount wasn’t disclosed. “Our investment in Nook reflects our belief that credit […]
AltaOne FCU in California invests in earned wage access platform
AltaOne Federal Credit Union in Ridgecrest, Calif., has invested in Veep Software. As part of the investment, the companies launched AnyTimePay, an earned wage access platform that lets members access wages they have earned before payday. The amount of the investment wasn’t disclosed. “At AltaOne, we are always looking for innovative ways to strengthen the […]
River City Bank in Calif. sells $121M in stock for two investors
River City Bank in Sacramento, Calif., sold $121.5 million in stock for two shareholders. The bank said in a press release that it sold 2.7 million shares for $45 each as part of the initial public offering, which was structured as a secondary offering for investors tied to the family of the bank’s founder. The […]
SOLO Data Exchange to coordinate with federal regulators
The SOLO Network, a customer data-sharing and reusable-verification platform, is running a bank reliance pilot observed by FinCEN and coordinated with federal regulators. The company said in a press release that the Treasury Department, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. are involved with the pilot’s coordination, a move […]
Stablecoin clearing house Augustus clears hurdle to open national bank
Augustus, previously known as Ivy, has received conditional approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for deposit insurance. Augustus, which recently obtained similar clearance from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to form a national bank, is expected to become a clearing bank built on a stablecoin and an AI-native core. The FDIC […]
Essex Bank in Connecticut promotes COO to become its CEO
Essex Bank in Essex, Conn., has a new CEO. The bank said in a press release that Lynn Giroux had also become its president. Giroux, who had been the bank’s chief operating officer, succeeded Diane Arnold, who retired. “I am deeply honored to have been selected … especially as Essex Bank continues to celebrate its […]
Servicer Zaria applies for national trust bank charter
Zaria Systems, a servicer specializing in digital asset-backed loans and securities, has applied with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a national trust bank charter. The Jackson, Wyo., company plans to form Zaria National Trust Bank to offer a single regulated counterparty to offer corporate trustee services for asset-backed securities, collateralized loan […]
Albert ILC application provides better look at operating model
Albert, a fintech that offers instant lines of credit, is seeking to establish a Utah-chartered industrial bank. The company applied with the Utah Department of Financial Institutions and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on July 20 to charter Albert Bank and obtain federal deposit insurance. The proposed bank would operate as a wholly owned subsidiary. […]
Climate First founder Ken LaRoe discloses ALS diagnosis
Ken LaRoe, the founder, chairman and CEO of Climate First Bancorp, told employees, customers and other stakeholders this week that he has been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the progressive neurological disease also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. LaRoe shared the news in a letter addressed to “the entire Climate First community,” writing that he […]
Consulting firm Cornerstone Advisors taps insider as next CEO
Cornerstone Advisors in Scottsdale, Ariz., has a new leader. The consulting firm said in a press release that Mazen Ghalayini had become its chairman and CEO. Ghalayini, who was president, succeeded Steve Williams, who remains at the firm as a founding partner. “It’s a privilege to build on the incredible foundation Steve and our team […]
Patelco Credit Union invests in open payments CUSO Payfinia
Payfinia, a credit union service organization (CUSO) that provides an open payments framework, has received an investment from Patelco Credit Union in Dublin, Calif. The CUSO didn’t disclose the amount of the investment from the $9.5 billion-asset Patelco. Kal Majmundar, Patelco’s chief technology officer, joined the Payfinia CUSO board. “At Patelco, we are committed to […]
MeridianLink buy wellness platform Credit Mountain
MeridianLink, a software provider, has acquired Credit Mountain, an AI-focused financial wellness platform. MeridianLink said in a press release that the acquisition “marks the start of an era of accelerated technology investment” that will accelerate its strategy of helping financial institutions engage borrowers throughout the lending decision. The price wasn’t disclosed. “MeridianLink has long been […]
Neobank Dakota applies for national trust bank charter
Dakota, a neobank that issued an enterprise stablecoin offering earlier this year, has applied for a national trust bank charter. The company, which already operates as a registered money services business, said in a press release that the new charter would position it “as a federally regulated provider of digital asset custody, stablecoin issuance, and […]
BCB in New Jersey reports big loss as cleanup begins
BCB Bancorp in Bayonne, N.J., reported a $14.8 million second-quarter loss. The $3.1 billion-asset company, which just hired turnaround expert Tom O’Brien as its CEO, said the loss reflected a $19 million loan-loss provision, a $5.3 million goodwill impairment, and a $2.6 million loss tied to a nonaccrual construction loan moved to held-for-sale. BCB said […]
Illinois Bankers Association looks outward for new leader
The Illinois Bankers Association has a new leader. The association said that David Boulay had become its president and CEO. Boulay was president of IMEC Illinois.
Fintech Chime cutting staff by 10%
Chime plans to cut a tenth of its workforce, or roughly 150 people. The fintech is looking to capitalize on increased use of artificial intelligence to innovate and become more efficient. “The world is changing quickly and this means we need to keep evolving too,” CEO Chris Britt wrote in a company memo. “To continue […]
Peoples Bancshares of TN to buy First Peoples in Tennessee
Peoples Bancshares of TN in Madisonville, Tenn., has agreed to buy First Peoples Bancorp in Jefferson City, Tenn. Peoples Bancshares said in a press release that it will have $650 million of assets after it buys the parent of First Peoples Bank of Tennessee in a deal expected to close late this year or early […]
Coastal in Wash. reports 2Q loss, end of talks to buy Evolve assets
Coastal Financial in Everett, Wash., reported a quarterly loss and disclosed that it is no longer in talks to buy deposits and assets from Evolve Bank & Trust in West Memphis, Ark. The $5.5 billion-asset company said in a press release that it lost $42.1 million in the second quarter, largely reflecting a $68.8 million […]
Linker Finance raises $5 million in seed round
Linker Finance raised $5 million in its latest seed round. The company, which helps banks figure out digital banking, has raised a total of $8.7 million. “Since our initial investment, Linker has continued to execute. The company is now live with 10+ community banks across multiple core banking platforms, helping financial institutions launch modern digital […]