Growth strategies

The Mississippi bank will pay $108 million for the parent of FNB Bank, which has branches in Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee.

Flush with excess capital, Bank of Montreal, TD Bank and others say they might be in the market to do a cross-border deal.

Bank stocks have climbed because of expectations that the change of power in Washington will hasten vaccine distribution and speed the economic recovery. The boost could give executives more flexibility to pursue acquisitions or make other strategic moves.

In a letter to credit unions, NCUA urged federally chartered shops to expand their fields of membership to underserved areas, regardless of geography, in order to boost financial inclusion in the wake of the pandemic.

Discussions to combine Penobscot County Federal Credit Union and The County FCU began in June 2019 but the deal was not completed until the end of 2020.

The combined institution will hold roughly $30 million in assets and serve about 4,000 members.

Acquiring Boston Private could put the parent company of Silicon Valley Bank years ahead of schedule in catering to the investment needs of high-tech and biomedical clients, whose industries have thrived during the pandemic.

Rockefeller Capital Management will buy Whitnell & Co., a business Associated bought in 2017 that manages $1.4 billion of assets.

The California company, which focuses on technology companies and entrepreneurs, will make a big push into wealth management as part of the proposed acquisition.

The National Credit Union Administration may get a new leader, several institutions could seek to expand their fields of membership, and a pot banking fight may reemerge.

Speculation is swirling that the Boston company will go on a buying spree after raising $1.8 billion, though some investors are advising caution. This tension makes CEO Bob Rivers one of our community bankers to watch in 2021.

The switch to Thomas Cangemi from longtime CEO Joseph Ficalora could foreshadow a push to curtail the company’s reliance on multifamily lending and the pursuit of a bank acquisition that lowers funding costs.

Chris Maher recently unloaded loans hurt by the coronavirus shock, convinced he was freeing the New Jersey company of baggage that could impede a large M&A deal. This assertive move makes him one of our community bankers to watch in 2021.

The company promoted two executives as part of an effort to revamp its leadership team and establish a bigger presence in the Carolinas.

Gilles Gade, one our community bankers to watch in 2021, led an effort that made Cross River Bank one of the biggest Paycheck Protection Program participants. He is ready for his team to pick up where it left off when the new stimulus package kicks in.

Members of $6.3 million-asset FIAFE Federal Credit Union will vote early next year on whether to merge into $43 million-asset Central Credit Union of Maryland.

With one study showing consumers racking up additional credit card debt this season, some members may be eager to consolidate their balances in the year ahead.

Riverside Health System Employees Credit Union has announced plans to merge into the Yorktown-based credit union, which is roughly 100 times its size.

The company will pay $20 million in cash for a bank with two branches and $58 million of loans.

Noninterest income has bolstered profits this year. But its growth is expected to slow over the next two years, making for a gloomy earnings outlook unless vaccine distributions and the economic recovery are relatively swift.