Growth strategies

The Sacramento-area institution moved quickly and decisively to fill the gap created by the loss of First Republic and Silicon Valley Bank. A first-quarter rise in Bay Area deposits is a sign of bigger gains to come, San Francisco Bay Area President DJ Kurtze says.

SouthState Corp. plans to purchase Independent Bank Group in a $2 billion deal, marking an end to the latter bank's long run of buying companies. Chairman and CEO David Brooks pointed to a challenging interest rate environment and heightened regulatory scrutiny as reasons he decided to sell.

One year after it bought First Republic Bank, the largest U.S. bank by assets is launching J.P. Morgan Private Client, a new tier in its affluent-consumer services that brings together JPMorgan's brand with First Republic's concierge model.

The Florida-based bank, which has been expanding across the South, would enter major markets such as Dallas and Houston with its planned all-stock acquisition of Independent Bank Group.

CEO Kevin Cohee is convinced WiseOne, the AI companion OneUnited Bank rolled out late last year, can help customers make better financial decisions. Cohee also wants to see his passion for personal fiscal improvement play to a wider audience, through development of a nationwide financial literacy curriculum.

The Los Angeles-based company, which focuses on Korean Americans, said the acquisition of Territorial Bancorp will allow it to expand its customer base.

The New York-based bank says it will push its concentration of commercial real estate loans below 400% of risk-based capital over the next two years and focus more on C&I.

New York Community Bancorp took a massive loan-loss provision and slashed its dividend to meet tougher capital and liquidity requirements after rocketing by that asset mark. A half dozen regionals face tough questions about whether they're better prepared than NYCB, which had to be rescued.

Banks are proceeding with caution as a new generation of AI tools arises.