John Reosti is a reporter covering community banks in particular and the financial services industry in general. He also focuses on the Small Business Administration, the National Credit Union Administration Board and issues connected to the CECL accounting standard.
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HomeTrust Bancshares has one less worry after a judge dismissed a three-year-old lawsuit against the Asheville, N.C., company.
March 31 -
United Community Banks took hefty hits during the financial crisis due to its focus on real estate lending. Today, the Georgia company is diversifying by building teams dedicated to SBA lending and making other specialty loans.
March 27 -
While many small banks are hoping Congress will grant regulatory relief this year, mutual institutions are seeking two specific changes they hope can bolster their struggling business.
March 23 -
Ohio's largest mutual bank is planning to form a holding company to position itself for acquisitions and other growth opportunities.
March 20 -
In a unanimous vote, the NCUA Board moved to eliminate a restriction that limited federal credit unions' investment in fixed assets to 5% of assets.
March 19 -
If successful, Provident Bank in Massachusetts and Cincinnati Federal in Ohio would become the first new mutual holding companies since 2011, giving some hope that the structure could make a comeback.
March 19 -
Frank Hamlin, CEO of Canandaigua National, suggested in a recent letter to shareholders that N.Y. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's cases against Financial Institutions Inc. and Evans Bancorp were politically motivated.
March 16 -
Washington CUNA officials continue to insist NCUA lacks statutory authority to implement a two-tiered risk-based capital rule.
March 12 -
Thomas Depping would have been content to keep making small-business loans through his Houston-area bank, but regulatory pressure led him to give up his charter and form a nonbank lender with the same business model.
March 10 -
PacWest needed deposits to fuel its lending machine. Square 1 was drowning in liquidity. Similar deals could be in the works as low-cost deposits become more valuable in light of likely interest-rate increases.
March 2 -
The Northeast has always been a competitive market for deposit gathering. Loan growth and the potential for rising interests are forcing banks in the region to find new ways to bring in low-cost liquidity.
February 26 -
With a strong financial commitment and a goal of "building cool stuff," the Boston community bank hopes to continue to innovate.
February 25 -
A stable of in-house development talent helps Florida's C1 Financial create cutting-edge apps.
February 25 -
Huntington had admired the finance firm for decades, but it was the Ohio company's Midwestern ties that helped it snag the unit from other suitors.
February 24 -
The upstarts are shaking up the world of small-business financing, but with fraud concerns mounting, some say it's only a matter of time before they come under the scrutiny of state and federal regulators.
February 24 -
CoBiz Financial in Denver plans to shutter its investment banking unit by the end of March.
February 20 -
NCUA approved a proposed rule that would raise the asset ceiling for its definition of a "small entity" credit union by $50 million to $100 million.
February 19 -
Biddeford Savings Bank and Mechanics Savings Bank will form a holding company to help each cut costs and make bigger loans. But the thrifts are hoping to keep their own charters, and independence, over the long term.
February 17 -
Racial disparity in small-business loans remains glaring, despite some improvement. Lenders' unfamiliarity with African-American communities is part of the problem, but so is the need for financial education among prospective borrowers.
February 16 -
Loan demand, which bankers say remained weak well after the recession, is picking up, and the industry is adjusting business models to meet it. But banks may want to act fast.
February 16
