John Reosti

Funding Circle, one of the fintechs that received an SBLC license last fall, lost $5 million in 2023 and plans to focus on its U.K. operations. Republican skeptics of the SBA seized on this, and Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman's renewed push for the agency to make direct loans.

Investing in Main Street Act has passed the House three times with overwhelming majorities but has failed to gain traction in the Senate. Backers, including banks that invest in the funds, hope to flip the script with a third version.

Peapack-Gladstone's wealth unit is pursuing an ambitious de novo expansion in New York and perhaps elsewhere because M&A has become expensive as private equity money has inflated seller expectations.

The agency had intended to block access to tax data by most lenders on June 30 as part of a policy change that sought to protect taxpayer privacy. But drew broad opposition from the financial services industry.

The Columbus, Ohio, regional bank will focus first on Dallas before venturing statewide. Its move into the Lone Star State comes three months after announcing a similar initiative in the Carolinas.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp declined to detail the savings it expects from the downsizing, though one analyst estimated it could shave $3 million from the company's annual noninterest expenses.

Ryan Bailey's responsibilities include refreshing Cambridge Savings Bank's digital-only brand Ivy Bank. The institution believes his prior stint at USAA has prepared him for the challenge.

After Carter Bankshares sought to auction one of his properties, Gov. Jim Justice promised to "push back like you can't imagine."

The Fort Lee, New Jersey, company has hired a pair of veteran investment bankers to lead an effort serving fintechs' capital market needs. It described the move as "doubling down" on its commitment to the sector.

MainStreet Bancshares in Fairfax says it can succeed where others have run into some thorny regulatory problems by cutting out the middleware and linking fintech partners directly to its core.

Community Bank System in Syracuse faced claims it failed to properly pay some branch-level employees, making it one of a growing number of banks forced to confront compensation-related disputes in recent months.

After focusing on cost control throughout much of 2023, including a round of job cuts, the Pittsburgh company has announced plans to expand in high-growth markets like Texas and refurbish more than 1,200 existing offices.

Known by his nickname Buz, John Gorman helped the Conference of State Bank Supervisors launch its nationwide cooperative agreement in 2006 and the National Multistate Licensing System for mortgage lenders two years later.

Brandon Milhorn, the new CEO of the Conference of State Banking Supervisors, used the platform offered by his first major speech to sound an alarm against one-size-fits-all solutions emanating from Washington. "The pendulum has swung too far in the direction of federal regulatory uniformity," Milhorn argued.

Cullen/Frost in Texas, BankUnited in Florida and Bank OZK in Arkansas are among the banks that have, at least for now, allayed investors' fears about their exposure to the CRE sector.

The Los Angeles company has sold $6 billion of loans and securities since buying PacWest in November. CEO Jared Wolff said it might get smaller still as it strives to boost profitability.

John Watt, 65, will step down in May after more than seven years as president and CEO of NBT Bancorp in Norwich, New York. The plethora of internal candidates to succeed him made the decision a no-brainer, Watt says.

After California was hit hard by the banking crisis of 2023, tens of thousands of commercial and consumer customers turned to East West, helping the company achieve record full-year revenue, its CEO says.

The expansion program, entering its sixth year, gives the Cincinnati-based company a regional profile few of its competitors can match, CEO Tim Spence said on a conference call with analysts.

The Cleveland-based regional bank was not well positioned for the sharp rise in interest rates last year. But executives say the year ahead will be different, pointing to strong credit quality and a repricing of Key's securities portfolio.