The activist investor, which has pressured the company in the past to find a buyer, fell short in an attempt last year to gain representation.

The Tennessee company has been buying banks in smaller markets and college towns where it rarely has to compete with financial giants.

Portland FCU will convert to a state charter as part of the merger, and all employees of both institutions are expected to be retained.

Lighthouse Network has acquired payment gateway Shift4 Corp. and will rebrand its company as Shift4 Payments.

The Iowa company was sidelined by a Fed order for 2,155 days. Finally free, Ambank is open to making an acquisition and offering its mortgage origination services to other institutions.

Blue Lion Capital has complained about the company's reliance on mortgages and bank acquisitions.

The company has agreed to pay more than $50 million for United American Bank.

The Kennesaw, Ga.-based company, which targets borrowers with blemished credit records, has acquired LoanHero, which specializes in loans at the cash register.

The bank says it received an “outstanding” rating on its most recent Community Reinvestment Act examination. Its previous rating, a “needs to improve,” not only was bad publicity but restricted its ability to buy banks.

The company, which agreed to pay $58 million for Foundation's parent, will gain five branches in Cincinnati.

In some ways the Canadian bank's U.S. consumer business is only now shaking off many of its crisis-era problems here. CEO Darryl White is pinning his retail-comeback hopes on a rejuvenated sales culture and a focus on more profitable customers.

Banks that have flocked to the business because of higher yields and loan diversity stand to benefit if clients use tax savings to upgrade equipment.

Another tiny credit union is being absorbed by its much larger counterpart in the ongoing consolidation of the industry.

The payments company will pay $321 million for Crestmark Bank, a commercial lender that focuses on asset-based lending, equipment finance and government-guaranteed loans.

United will pay $130 million for NLFC Holdings, the parent company of Navitas Credit.

The merger of Parker Community Credit Union into Educators Credit Union was approved in August 2017 and will go into effect on Jan. 8.

Banks, especially smaller institutions, will be forced to find more ways to differentiate, Bryan Jordan said in an interview that also covered his company's recent purchase of Capital Bank and how tax reform will immediately stimulate the economy.

The company sold securities in the fourth quarter to stay below $10 billion in assets and avoid a cap on interchange fees.

The payments industry is getting pulled in two directions, as technology and e-commerce promise a borderless future for transactions while political forces apply the brakes.

Commercial customers, including small businesses, seem ready to pay up to shift to faster, more sophisticated electronic invoicing and payments, and enterprising banks that provide them the technology to do so could find it lucrative.