Corporate governance

The company, once known as Southern National Bancorp of Virginia, plans to launch the as-yet-unnamed platform by the end of this year.

The purchases of Truck Insurance Specialists and Hometown Insurance are expected to help the company expand its dealings in transportation and agriculture.

The company will start to offer insurance planning and risk management services as part of its purchase of Strategic Wealth Group in Valdosta, Ga.

The company’s retail banking and auto-lending businesses in the U.S. generated a larger share of overall profits in the first quarter, and Executive Chairman Ana Botín and other executives unveiled expansion plans for both units.

The Arkansas bank is turning to asset-based lending and loans to venture capital and other investment groups to help fill a void created by a shortage of new, big-ticket commercial real estate deals.

Mike Daniels has been president and CEO of Nicolet's bank since 2015.

The Dallas company will pay nearly $54 million for a 49% stake in a lender that operates in 10 states.

The $56 million acquisition will extend Southern California Bancorp's footprint north of Los Angeles.

Profits slumped last year and many investors are now voicing their displeasure with the compensation awarded to senior leaders. A nonbinding “say on pay” vote taken Tuesday passed narrowly, but Chairman Charles Noski indicated that the board will take the results into account when designing future pay packages.

Citigroup said a full review conducted after the lender mistakenly sent $900 million to a group of investment firms concluded the bank didn’t need to claw back any pay from executives.