Community Banking

A portfolio review initiated by BCB Bancorp's new CEO, Tom O'Brien, led to a spike in nonaccrual loans at the Bayonne, New Jersey-based bank.

A recipe of no securities, mostly adjustable-rate loans and a cheap rural deposit base made the Texas bank the top performer in the $2 billion-$10 billion asset class.

"Increase Bank is the bank I needed at Stripe," CEO Darragh Buckley said as he announced the rebrand of a community bank he acquired last year.

Coastal Financial in Everett, Washington, is reshuffling its management team and abandoning an expansion plan. On Thursday, the bank reported a nearly $69 million credit expense sparked by a fintech partner's deteriorating financial condition.

The Denver-based bank scaled back its estimate of tangible-book-value dilution resulting from the First Foundation deal to 10%, down from the 14% figure projected in October.

More than two dozen community banks submitted letters to the Federal Reserve expressing concern that its proposed "skinny" payment account framework could put them at a competitive disadvantage.

Climate First Bank's fast-growing loan portfolio is creating the need for additional funding. In response, the Florida bank is rolling out a checking account that pays a high yield and also sends money to a nonprofit organization chosen by the customer.

Bankers largely agree that there should be reforms, but don't agree on which ones; plus, our second batch of best-performing banks.

In American Banker's ranking of banks with the strongest metrics, here is this year's list in the $2-$10 billion range, based on data from Capital Performance Group.