The Seattle bank's stock price fell in 2023 amid concerns over rising interest rates and its concentration of multifamily loans. The buyer is FirstSun Capital Bancorp, which raised $175 million as part of the deal.

Clark Street Capital said it developed a service to pair sellers with multiple potential buyers within just two weeks. It's meant to help small lenders close deals fast while still getting the benefits of a bidding process.

Southern Bancorp in Little Rock, Arkansas, plans to put $250 million in equity capital it received from the Treasury Department to good use making mortgages and acquiring banks.

The deadline for a $28 million deal between Bancorp 34 and CBOA Financial was pushed later into 2024 after Bancorp 34, the buyer, announced it would restate third-quarter results to reflect a significant loss tied to a worsening commercial real estate credit.

Washington Trust shares plunged after the Westerly, Rhode Island, company disclosed it booked an office deal in the third quarter, boosting the size of its portfolio while other lenders are pulling back.

American Bank of Oklahoma agreed to a consent order in August to settle allegations from the Department of Justice over redlining. However, the institution strenuously objected to references to the Tulsa Race Massacre in the agreement and asked that the language be stricken.

The San Antonio-based lender is introducing new products targeted at borrowers who make less than 80% of their county's median income. The loans, which will qualify for Community Reinvestment Act credit, could help expand access to the state's increasingly expensive housing market.

Merchants Bancorp says it will sell a total of four branches to two buyers and focus more on its core residential mortgage lending business. Banks of all sizes have been pruning branch networks in recent years.

As the Latino population in the U.S. expands, so does the business case for banks and credit unions that want to tailor services for this audience.

The Department of Justice cited American Bank of Oklahoma's lending record, as well as racially inflammatory emails it claims bank employees forwarded, in support of its redlining claims.

Followers of Islam cannot pay interest on loans. Androscoggin Bank figured out a way to structure a new product that addresses that challenge and paves a path to more homeownership.

Forget special offers, ubiquitous branches and promises of convenience. Younger clients want to see state-of-the-art technology and hear good things from friends and family, according to a recent Arizent survey.

Banking and credit union regulators encouraged compassionate treatment of customers in Hawaii communities hit by wildfires. They also vowed to grant expedited approvals of temporary banking facilities, be flexible in compliance matters and provide other support to financial institutions.

The racially targeted mass shooting at a Buffalo, New York, grocery store in 2022 has renewed conversations about whether banks have a duty to help segregated, impoverished communities that were shaped in part by discriminatory lending practices. What do banks owe the Black community, and what influence could they have?

Gateway First Bank, a former nonbank home lender, rode the pandemic era's mortgage wave to No. 1 on American Banker's latest list of top-performing banks based on full-year 2022 data. Now it has to cope with the housing market slowdown.

Several community banks noted an uptick in problem loans in second-quarter earnings reports. Small lenders should brace for more of this, industry observers noted.

The average credit union member had saved $286 less in March compared to a year earlier. That was the largest per-member drop in credit union history, fueled by rising costs of living and more aggressive competition.

The American Bankers Association's Economic Advisory Committee said access to loans is likely to further soften, while defaults and credit losses could increase in the second half of the year.

The Philadelphia-based company will eliminate an undisclosed number of jobs as part of a plan to refocus on core business lines and markets, CEO Thomas Geisel said.

With the acquisition, the Lake City, Florida-based community bank will nab a consumer-direct platform and expand its footprint in the Midwest.