Reading Cooperative's combination with Wakefield Cooperative, the third deal involving Boston-area banks announced in the past month, would create a $1.2 billion community bank.

The industry should save on interest expenses this year as it follows the Fed's lead in cutting rates. The downside is that the lower deposit rates signal fewer opportunities to make loans.

Florida-based Amerant Bancorp recently restructured its securities portfolio after selling its Houston branches.

Arrow Financial in Glens Falls kept busy in December, consolidating its two subsidiary banks, expanding its board and restructuring its securities portfolio.

The digital bank unit of SMBC Manubank keeps costs low with remote employees and all tech in the cloud, President John Rosenfeld says.

Lenders across the country promoted from within to fill top executive roles, including First International Bank & Trust in Watford City, North Dakota.

The Stamford, Connecticut-based bank hired Steven Sugarman to be its president. The former bank CEO, who now heads one of the country's largest mission-based lenders, will help drive an effort to close a capital gap.

The Honolulu-based utility sold a 90.1% stake in American Savings Bank. The deal valued the lender at $450 million.

The trend of credit unions buying banks is a lightning rod for controversy in the banking industry. Despite this, such mergers are increasingly common.

Banks are taking hits in the stock market as they use 2024 to restructure balance sheets and inflation slightly increased in November.

Community banking highlights in 2024 included strong deposit growth at a Los Angeles-based digital-only bank, continued regulatory scrutiny of banking-as-a-service arrangements, along with a transformational deal in the Old Dominion.

A record 22 credit unions announced plans to acquire banks in 2024, though the year ended on a discordant note as regulatory concerns appear to have derailed a planned CU-bank deal in Georgia.

JPMorgan Chase opened a net 38 sites in the 12 months ended Sept. 30, bucking the branch-closing trend.

As the new year begins, managers across the industry will be setting new goals for their branch bankers. They'll find more engagement and success if they clearly articulate the thinking behind the goal setting.

Bankers expected big changes for community banks, digital assets and regulation. Were they correct?

The Seattle-based company's deal with Bank of America comes five weeks after the termination of its planned sale to FirstSun Capital Bancorp in Denver.

Transactions grew larger and more frequent this year. As a result, aggregate value more than tripled from 2023 and topped $15 billion.

With transparency, security and reliability embedded at its core, a blockchain is not merely a way to enhance existing systems — it represents a model for what banking should aspire to be.

On her way out the door, SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman issues licenses to four more nondepository lenders.

Banks can and should play a key role in giving members of minority groups and other underserved communities the tools they need to navigate an increasingly complicated financial landscape.