Paul Davis

Longstanding familiarity with each other and years of informal talks helped the companies negotiate their $7.6 billion merger in just two months.

USI Insurance Services agreed to buy Northwest Insurance Services in a deal that should close later this quarter.

The Illinois company would gain its first two branches in Winnebago County as part of the deal.

The Texas company has agreed to acquire HubTran, which offers artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities for the transportation sector.

Organizers of the Florida de novo will need to raise $17 million in capital before opening.

The California company will gain $4 billion of low-cost deposits with its $250 million acquisition of the homeowners association services division.

Heritage Southeast Bank in Georgia, at $1.6 billion of assets, would become the largest bank to be sold to a credit union.

Sam Sidhu, whose father is CEO Jay Sidhu, will become president and chief executive of Customers Bank in July.

Peoples Bancorp will pay $292 million for the West Virginia company. It also announced it's buying a leasing company in Vermont.

A federal watchdog agency determined that Almena State Bank's push into government-backed loans, supported with high-cost wholesale funding, set it up for collapse when significant credit issues arose.

The company agreed to buy Legacy Bank of Florida for $102 million.

Smith Shellnut Wilson has managed Business First's investment portfolio since the bank was formed 15 years ago.

Banc of California, which last bought a bank in 2013, has agreed to pay $235 million in stock for Pacific Mercantile, which is based in Costa Mesa, Calif.

The depositor-owned banks are discouraged from participating in the Emergency Capital Investment Program because they can't issue preferred stock to back loans for underserved communities. It's another reason to overhaul their capital rules, mutuals argue.

The de novo, which raised $33 million in initial capital, will become the state's third new bank since the 2008 financial crisis.

The Florida bank will expand to the east with its pending purchase of Hillsboro Bank.

Keith Costello, who is looking to form Locality Bank, was president and CEO of First Green Bank when it was sold in 2018.

DLP Bancshares, an affiliate of DLP Real Estate Capital, plans to use the acquisition to create a national platform for commercial real estate and warehouse loans.

The company will pay $29 million for Town-Country National Bank in Camden, Ala., which will operate as its own subsidiary after the deal closes.

Organizers of the proposed Our Community Bank still need to raise $18 million before opening.