The San Francisco company entered into a pact with its regulator when it acquired Radius Bank three years ago. "The operating agreement, by design, in some ways slows you down," said CEO Scott Sanborn.

Dogwood State Bank and Community First Bancorp plan an all-stock deal to create a $2.2 billion bank, technology firm Fiserv announces a partnership with the National Hockey League's New Jersey Devils, former Texas secretary of state will join Cullen/Frost's board and more in our weekly banking news roundup.

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.

The embattled bank said it reviewed and then turned down a $3.25-per-share bid from Dream Chasers Capital. Carver called the offer "unrealistically low" given the bank's "intrinsic value."

Challenger banks, like traditional banks, are under pressure to operate with fewer expenses. Artificial intelligence is part of the answer, and the impact on the workforce may be profound.

The Seattle-based buyer now expects to finalize the deal in February, gaining entrance to California and eclipsing $30 billion of assets. The acquisition had initially been slated to close in mid-2023.

Experts predict the number of small businesses turning to an employee-ownership model will accelerate in the coming years. The would mean opportunities for banks that advise on such transitions.

The megabank failed to adequately protect and reimburse customers who were victims of wire-transfer fraud, according to a lawsuit by the New York Attorney General. Citi said that it follows all relevant laws and regulations.

The deal involving Southern California Bancorp and California BanCorp, expected to close in the third quarter, would form a $4.6 billion-asset lender with a footprint spanning San Diego, Greater Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Organizations that emphasize not just coaching but the importance of remaining coachable, tend to develop more talented and engaged teams.

Banks need to reckon with the explosive rise of legal online wagering and the addicts left in its wake.

The stable outlook is an indication that — at least for some lenders — the much-feared cycle of cardholders defaulting on their obligations in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic may not turn out to be so bad.

National Bankshares in Virginia agrees to acquire in-state peer, Advia Credit Union in Kalamazoo strikes deal with Illinois bank, EBANX's annual Beyond Borders study launches and more in the weekly banking news roundup.

After a 2023 that witnessed several significant bank failures, here's how bank regulators should be thinking about the danger of bank runs, and structuring their supervision, going forward.

The private student loan market is in flux after one major lender, Discover Financial Services, said it's leaving the sector. Sallie Mae is gearing up to compete for that business, much as it did when Wells Fargo pulled up stakes in 2020.

Lloyds Banking Group is cutting around 1,600 roles across its branches, part of a push by the lender to provide more services online.

The private equity firm Caryle is buying a $415 million student loan portfolio from Truist Financial. It's also investing in a nonbank student lender called Monogram that works with banks and credit unions.

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 credit card issuer said it's "cautiously optimistic" about its borrowers' financial health, with charge-offs expected to rise not much further than pre-pandemic levels. The upbeat outlook contrasts with a key competitor's guidance of significantly higher losses.