Banking

The buyer said the all-stock deal to buy The First Bancshares would create a combined bank with $25 billion of assets.

In a new survey of bank executives from IntraFi, 90% of respondents said instances of check fraud have increased in recent years and half want law enforcement to make check fraud a bigger priority to stop criminals from stealing checks in the mail.

First Foundation in Dallas recently got a $228 million capital injection led by Fortress Investment Group. Now it's announced plans to pivot away from its heavy focus on multifamily loans, which lost value as interest rates rose.

The parent company of Flagstar Bank reported a net loss of $323 million for the second quarter after boosting loan-loss provisions and recording a steep increase in net charge-offs. Still, it says it's making progress on a turnaround plan, including by agreeing to the sale of its mortgage servicing business.

The embattled Long Island-based bank announced the hiring of nine new senior executives. Most of them have ties to CEO Joseph Otting, who previously held the top job at the OCC and OneWest Bank.

Institutional investors have an opportunity to "do well while doing good" while advancing a flagship public/private partnership model writes the Chief Growth Officer of Rocktop.

When the superregional bank sold its insurance business for $10.1 billion, it laid out three ways to use the proceeds: buybacks, a balance sheet repositioning and loan growth. The latter plan is so far proving to be elusive.

Bank OZK is the latest commercial real estate-heavy bank to announce plans to diversify its business. CEO George Gleason emphasized that he's confident in the bank's loan portfolio, but said he thinks misperceptions are dragging down the stock price.

The Dallas-based company, whose earnings per share fell short of consensus by 6 cents, lowered its revenue forecast and raised its expense outlook. Its stock price fell more than 8% on Thursday.

The Cleveland-based regional bank continues to benefit from strength in investment banking, though concerns about stalled loan growth emerged as CEO Chris Gorman described demand as tepid.