Banking News from American Banker

Orange Bank and Trust in Middletown says it will operate as a boutique commercial bank, focusing on small business, nonprofits and the borough's sizzling housing construction market.

Banks that don't focus on credit cards for this market may find larger banks and fintechs are eating their lunch.

The bank has hired an advisory firm to assess a potential sale, a capital raise or a strategic partnership after a prior merger fell through.

Workers in the bank's conduct management intake group joined colleagues at 23 Wells Fargo branches in approving a union.

Institutions like BMO Financial Group and Bank of Nova Scotia saw earnings bogged down by increased loan loss provisions and higher tax rates.

The merger pairs the fintech's consumer lending platform with Gen Digital's identity-protection services, such as Norton, LifeLock and ReputationDefender.

From Donald Trump to Gunjan Kedia, Jerome Powell to Jamie Dimon, here are the people who will impact the industry this year (including Taylor Swift).

A slower rate of price increases would boost the likelihood of an interest-rate cut that could expand loan demand and lower banks' deposit costs. A higher pace of inflation, however, could derail those catalysts.

The Honolulu-based bank is taking a $19.7 million pretax loss to rid its balance sheet of low-yielding investments. It joined a parade of banks that have made similar moves.

Banking South Korean companies has become a major pillar of the Los Angeles-based Hanmi's balance sheet, with a portfolio of loans approaching $1 billion.

The unionization push by members of the bank's conduct management intake team has been hotly contested. If approved, it would represent a landmark in the effort to organize workers at the $1.9 trillion-asset bank.

The cash-and-stock bid for Enterprise Bancorp is expected to close in the second half of 2025. In connection with the deal, Independent plans to raise about $250 million in subordinated debt.

The Federal Reserve's interest-rate cut came too late in the third quarter for banks to capitalize on. Leaders say the fourth quarter will yield better growth.

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

The industry hopes that the bigger hurdles to bank mergers under President Biden will fade in the new administration. But populist opposition to consolidation in the tech sector could spill over into banking.

The Dallas-based bank has a growing list of legal and regulatory issues — some of them connected to its role in a U.S. government benefits program, and others not.

Unity Bank in Clinton, NJ, now offers EV charging stations in a collaboration with Encore Energy Group; fintech Beneficient announced its agreement to acquire Puerto Rico-based Mercantile Bank; Trump named payments exec Jared Isaacman to run NASA; and more in this week's banking news roundup.

Net closings rose to the highest quarterly level in nearly three years. As M&A rebounds, banks are also trimming their physical footprints as customer demand for digital services overshadow in-person transactions.

There is a major opportunity out there, especially for community banks, to displace predatory lenders and earn a healthy return at the same time. It's just a question of making the leap.

The Green Bay, Wisconsin-based bank will record a fourth-quarter loss after agreeing to sell $3 billion of low-yield loans and mortgages. The moves leave the bank well-positioned for 2025, CEO Andy Harmening said.