Jim Dobbs

ChoiceOne Financial Services would pay about $180 million to acquire Fentura Financial in a bid to expand in Detroit's suburbs. The deal would create a bank with more than $4 billion of assets.

The $73.5 million all-stock deal, slated to close early in 2025, would create a bank with more than $3 billion of assets.

The Oklahoma-based bank also struck an upbeat tone on economic conditions and credit quality after it reported a sharp quarter-over-quarter increase in net income.

The Alabama-based bank also said that its outlook for net interest income is brightening. Several other regional banks have offered similarly upbeat guidance in recent days.

The Georgia-based bank recorded a $257 million hit after unloading a bundle of securities that it expects to redeploy into higher-yielding assets. It also forecast a resumption of loan growth in the second half of the year.

The top-performing banks with between $10 billion and $50 billion of assets boasted relatively strong loan portfolios and expense control.

The Pittsburgh-based superregional bank reported a small quarter-over-quarter advance in net interest income, and it expects loan growth to pick up in the second half of the year. PNC, which announced job cuts last year, also said that it has identified an additional $25 million in cost savings.

After its planned sale to a larger competitor fell through, the renamed bank plans to expand into new markets, starting with St. Louis.

Higher funding costs, lower loan demand and the potential for increased credit costs continue to drag on the sector heading into second-quarter earnings season.

With the Federal Reserve holding interest rates at elevated levels through the first half of the year, analysts are sharpening their collective focus on possible fallout from high deposit and borrowing costs.

New top executives were lined up for lenders across the West and Midwest, including Bank of North Dakota.

There were 27 bank acquisitions worth $5.45 billion announced in the second quarter as of mid-June. That was more than the $5.2 billion combined value of deals announced over the previous five quarters.

The managing partner at Team8 is one of American Banker's 2024 Most Influential Women in Fintech.

The chief technology officer at nbkc bank is one of American Banker's Innovators of the Year.

An assistant vice president at Horicon Bank is one of American Banker's Innovators of the Year.

PeoplesBank and Cornerstone Bank entered into an agreement to combine their holding companies in a deal slated to close early in 2025. The banks would continue to operate separately.

MC Bancshares and Heritage NOLA Bancorp announced plans to combine in 2023, but the companies called off the deal after difficulties securing approvals. It amplified what an analyst called the "ever-present risk" of examiner scrutiny.

The bank said it would reduce its physical footprint by nearly 15% as part of an effort to reduce overlapping operations, drive cost savings and meet profitability targets tied to its May acquisition of Lakeland Bancorp.

Investors homed in on the benefits of positive economic data for lenders, rather than the possibility of a strong job market delaying interest rate cuts that would help to lower deposit costs and boost credit demand.

ELGA Credit Union said it plans to acquire Marine Bank & Trust in an all-cash deal. The combination marks the 12th of the year involving a credit union buying a bank, keeping the industry on pace to establish a new record for such deals.