Organizers of Integro Bank in Phoenix have cleared another major hurdle. The group said in a press release that it has received conditional approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Organizers must raise at least $27.9 million before being cleared to open. Integro received conditional approval from the Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions earlier this month. "Combining this federal regulatory approval with our state regulatory approval and our recently obtained bank

The nation’s biggest banking associations are opposed to the creation of a U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). The Federal Reserve had been seeking comments on whether or not to pursue a US CBDC, though the central bank has said it would prefer a legislative mandate before going down that path. The comment period ended on Friday. The American Bankers Association, Independent Community Bankers of America and the Bank Policy Institute expressed

South State in Winter Haven, Fla., is planning to close 30 branches. The $46 billion-asset company disclosed in a regulatory filing Tuesday that 16 of the closures will be in Florida, six in South Carolina, five in Georgia and the rest in Virginia and North Carolina. The branches represent about 10.5% of the company’s branch network, based on the number of locations it had in mid-2021. South State said the closures were part

JPMorgan Chase has hired a former PayPal executive to serve as its head of fintech partnerships for its commercial bank. The $4 trillion-asset company said in a press release that it had hired Peggy Mangot to fill the position. She will oversee a team that will design, develop and implement strategies. Mangot was in charge of leading investments in fintech, commerce, infrastructure and crypto for PayPal Ventures. Prior to joining PayPal, she

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is paying closer attention to banks’ balance sheets after rising interest rates led to higher levels of unrealized losses in securities portfolios. While the banking industry has “high liquid asset levels,” Martin Gruenberg, the FDIC’s acting chairman, said in a Tuesday press release that “elevated levels of unrealized losses could increase the risk of actual losses should banks sell investments at a loss to meet liquidity

Sultan Meghji, who stepped down as chief innovation officer at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. earlier this year, has a new job. Meghji tweetedon Tuesday that he will join Reciprocal Ventures as a senior adviser.  Reciprocal invests in early stage fintechs. Its portfolio includes Squads, an app that can be used to create decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), and Whym, a conversational commerce startup. The company is one of six investors behind the

HomeTrust Bancshares in Asheville, N.C., is set to have a new CEO. The $3.5 billion-asset company said in a press release Tuesday that Hunter Westbrook will succeed Dana Stonestreet at CEO on Sept. 1. Westbrook will remain president and CEO of HomeTrust Bank. Stonestreet, who has been CEO since 2013, will remain chairman. He is set to retire as chairman at the company's 2023 annual meeting.“Hunter’s commercial banking expertise, vision for strategic growth

Brookline Bancorp in Boston has agreed to buy PCSB Financial in Yorktown Heights, N.Y. The $8.6 billion-asset Brookline said in a press release Tuesday that it will pay $313 million in cash and stock for the $2 billion-asset PCSB. The deal, which is expected to close in the second half of this year, priced PCSB at 117.6% of its tangible book value. PCSB Bank will retain its New York charter and operate