John Reosti

After working for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for a decade, Marc Minish was determined that he could open his own institution. Now he is the primary organizer of the proposed Nova Bank in Huntsville, Alabama, which has received conditional regulatory approval.

Activist investor Abbott Cooper said he could continue his campaign against the Dallas-based company's management and board even if his candidate falls short in her bid to become a director.

For large community banks, ensuring minimum problematic loans is an important financial metric. In fact, of the top 20 midsize banks, 17 reported nonperforming loans below 1% of total assets.

As it pushes the boundaries of its Midwestern footprint, the Columbus, Ohio-based bank is on pace to book more than 6,000 7(a) loans in SBA's 2023 fiscal year, the biggest total in seven years.

The Dallas-based institution has hired Dan Sheehan, a veteran banker and the former CEO of Professional Bank, to head the effort that will include opening a branch in Palm Beach County later this year.

Paulding County, northwest of Atlanta, is Georgia's second-fastest growing county, but after years of consolidation just one community bank has a branch there.

Beach Cities Commercial Bank is set to open in Southern California next week. Rising interest rates and consolidation in recent decades have created more opportunities for investors to form new banks, experts said.

Cogent Bank in Orlando says it took two branches in the Southwestern part of the state less than three years to amass $400 million of deposits.

Led by Chairman Marshall Reynolds, the entire board of directors participated in a private placement that raised $10 million for the Hammond, Louisiana, company.

A pair of mutual banks in Maryland and New York that sold minority stakes more than a decade ago are pursuing second-step offerings that will result in both becoming fully stock-traded companies.

The Seattle bank is a victim of the short selling that has rocked the banking industry this year and its stock price doesn't reflect its fundamentals, CEO Mark Mason argues.

After the departure of a key Small Business Administration official, lawmakers from both parties are calling on the SBA's chief to delay rules that could open the agency's biggest lending program to more nonbanks — or even consider reversing the changes.

The Philadelphia bank's CEO says it will wait for a more favorable time to pursue a planned $125 million capital raise, while the leader of an activist group blasted the decision and announced the renewal of proxy and legal fights.

The de novo institution is offering treasury management and depository services to the fragmented nail-and-beauty segment. Management has hopes this will bolster its relationship banking and liquidity.

A recent Bank of America survey found many small businesses forecasting increased revenues and planning to add workers, but a canvass by Biz2Credit indicated they'll struggle to secure credit.

The Philadelphia-based company will eliminate an undisclosed number of jobs as part of a plan to refocus on core business lines and markets, CEO Thomas Geisel said.

The fund, which aims to create a self-sustaining, nationwide secondary market for CDFI microloans, has made progress, but it remains far short of its goal, its managing director said.

At the embattled Republic First Bancorp, elevated legal, professional and audit fees also contributed to a nearly $10 million in first-quarter loss but CEO Thomas Geisel reports signs of progress moving past "legacy headwinds."

BayFirst Financial, which says it lost $1.6 million when a planned Small Business Administration loan sale to Signature fell through, plans to file a claim for the lost revenue with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The Richmond, Virginia-based bank has created a $5 million legal reserve fund with an eye toward resolving a long-running regulatory inquiry by the CFPB