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."

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.

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.

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu said Monday his agency is rescinding a rule that requires merger applications to be considered approved 15 days after a comment period's closure, part of a broader effort to rethink the bank merger process.

Ten months after the Raleigh, North Carolina, company acquired a large chunk of Silicon Valley Bank, it says it is seeing good progress in keeping and winning back the latter's former customers. But the ongoing slowdown in private equity and venture capital activity will challenge the unit's growth.

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.

The Los Angeles company has sold $6 billion of loans and securities since buying PacWest in November. CEO Jared Wolff said it might get smaller still as it strives to boost profitability.

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.

The Tennessee-based bank was forced to keep operating on its own after a proposed acquisition was called off. Months later, First Horizon has picked up new customers and improved its profitability, but investors remain cautious amid plans for catch-up spending on technology.