Banking News from American Banker

Community Financial in Syracuse has made its biggest investment ever in an outside company, taking a $37.4 million equity stake in an insurance provider that focuses on the rental housing market.

Visa is introducing a premium service to the Middle East, and Lloyds Banking says its cash protection product is showing results. Plus, Brex teams up with Doordash and more in the American Banker global payments and fintech roundup.

Prosecutors say Daryl Heller lured 2,700 investors with promises of safe ATM profits but misappropriated $185 million.

The Denver-based bank-holding company's pending acquisition of Vista Bancshares in Dallas is an opportunity to expand into key fast-growing Texas markets and deepen its talent bench, CEO Tim Laney told analysts.

As President Trump calls for scrapping quarterly earnings reports and switching to a six-month schedule, industry observers wonder whether the time saved would be worth the potential loss of transparency.

The perennial effort by state-level lawmakers and regulators to impose their will on national banks risks damaging a well-balanced system that has allowed the U.S. economy to thrive.

Execs say other banks are still more of a rival for deposits than the digital currency.

First Northwest Bancorp in Port Angeles has selected an Everett, Washington-based competitor's president to serve as its new top executive.

The Massachusetts bank is being accused of aiding and abetting the operation of a Ponzi scheme centered in Hamilton, New York. The bank declined to comment on the allegations.

City National Bank promotes Brandon Williams to head private banking and wealth management; a former U.S. Postal Service letter carrier is sentenced to five and a half years for stealing over $10 million in checks from the mail; Lazard expands its North American investment banking franchise with two managing director hires; and more in this week's banking news roundup.

First internet Bancorp, which has recently been grappling with credit quality issues, has agreed to sell an $869 million portfolio of single tenant commercial real estate loans to Blackstone.

The Treasury Department has designated Fifth Third as the financial agent for its Direct Express prepaid card program. The decision marks a reversal from late last year, when BNY reached a five-year agreement with Treasury.

The CEOs of Pinnacle Financial Partners and Synovus Financial — two banks that recently announced a deal to join forces — say they've ironed out all the critical sticking points that bedeviled previous mergers of equals.

Bill Demchak said at an industry conference that PNC effectively "bought Colorado" with its recently announced plan to acquire the $27 billion-asset FirstBank.

CEO Curtis Farmer tried to assure skeptics Tuesday that the Dallas-based bank is focused on shareholder value and profitability, even as an activist investor group prepares to launch a board fight.

Congress can and should enact meaningful deposit insurance reform, but the current proposal before lawmakers is misguided. The deposit cap is excessive and the funding mechanism creates systemic risk.

The Columbus, Ohio-based regional bank announced plans to acquire Dallas-based Veritex Financial in July. On Monday, a Huntington executive called the deal a "springboard" for additional organic growth.

The Pittsburgh-based company's plan to buy FirstBank marks its first bank deal since its purchase of BBVA USA in 2021, which rapidly propelled its presence in the South and Southeast.

The megabank will continue its international retail strategy by opening business in Germany next year, starting by offering savings accounts to consumers.

Equity Bancshares is expanding into Nebraska with the proposed acquisition of Omaha-based Frontier Holdings; Valley National Bancorp taps Patrick Smith as its new president of consumer banking; Northern Trust in Chicago promoted Michael Hunstad to president of asset management; and more in this week's banking news roundup.