John Reosti

With a week left in its 2023 fiscal year, the Small Business Administration has already approved 12% more 7(a) loans than last year. Larger banks were among the biggest gainers as a result, according to the agency's latest data.

Boston-based Eastern Bankshares says its premium on the sale of Eastern Insurance Group will help fund the acquisition of Cambridge Trust and build a wealth management powerhouse. But some analysts point out more revenue is being sacrificed than gained.

Denver-based InBank will expand into Georgia and Arizona, part of a wider plan to seize market share and build what one executive called a top-tier SBA lender.

Commercial real estate loans are a growing area of concern for banks. But OceanFirst says its exposure to a troubled shared credit tied to a Manhattan office building isn't a sign of broader problems in its portfolio.

Despite an industrywide rough patch, EverBank still sees promise in the niche business line. The Jacksonville, Florida, company has hired a pair of prominent industry experts to lead a new division tasked with serving investment funds.

Executives at the Columbus, Ohio-based regional bank were convinced by a presentation Veuu, the solution's developer, made earlier this year.

The New York-based company announced the launch of a health care lending unit after capitalizing on recent bank failures to add seven deposit-focused banking groups this spring and summer.

Financial institutions in several Southeastern states had braced for impact of the Category 3 hurricane. Bank and credit union executives in Florida and Georgia say their facilities generally weathered the storm but that some communities they serve face substantial recovery efforts.

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.

Burke & Herbert Financial Corp. and Summit Financial Group announced a transaction that they described as a merger of equals valued at roughly $371.5 million in stock.

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.

News of the delisting, prompted by ongoing delays related to filing its 2022 annual report, triggered a selloff of the Philadelphia-based company's battered stock.

Cambridge Savings Bank's Ivy Bank online-only unit has spent two years offering CDs and savings accounts. Meanwhile, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group's new digital bank, Jenius, launched with personal loans. Both want to widen their product sets to benefit both sides of the balance sheet.

Dan Sheehan, former CEO at Professional Bank in Coral Gables, said he's "putting the band back together" to spearhead his new, Texas-based employer's expansion plans in the Sunshine State.

Thomas O'Brien has gained a reputation for being able to salvage institutions on the brink of disaster. With his latest rescue job nearly complete, the fix-it specialist ponders his next move.

The Wilmington, Delaware, bank announced this week that it had purchased Bell Rock Capital. WSFS' management says that legal troubles involving that investment advisory firm's founder won't affect the transaction.

Texas State Bankshares has agreed to buy Estrada Hinojosa & Co., one of the nation's biggest municipal underwriting and advisory firms.

Critics complain a bill sponsored by the leaders of the Senate Small Business Committee would reinstate a moratorium on participation in the SBA's flagship 7(a) program by nondepository lenders. Supporters of the bill argue that widening the program could invite more fraud.

The Pittsburgh-based regional is leaning heavily on ATMs as part of a de novo expansion strategy in the lucrative Washington metropolitan region.

Big Poppy Bancorp has applied to the Federal Reserve to acquire up to 24.99% of Summit State Bank. Both institutions are headquartered in Santa Rosa. Combining them would create the city's biggest bank.