Virginia community banks merge, Michigan credit union acquires bank

January 26, 2024 2:47 PM

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.

Virginia community banks to merge in $17 million deal

National Bankshares in Blacksburg, Virginia, said it agreed to acquire in-state peer Frontier Community Bank in a deal valued at $17.1 million. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter. With the acquisition of the $154 million-asset Frontier in Waynesboro, National Bankshares would grow to about $1.7 billion of assets. The deal terms call for Frontier shareholders to receive either 0.4250 National Bankshares common shares or $14.48 in cash for each common share they currently hold. Frontier operates three branches in Virginia. "This transaction allows Frontier to improve the products and services we offer our customers while continuing to operate with the culture and values of a community bank," Alan Sweet, president and CEO of Frontier, said in a press release. "National Bankshares' trading on the Nasdaq stock market provides Frontier's shareholders with the opportunity to benefit from enhanced stock trading liquidity." — Jim Dobbs

Advia Credit Union strikes deal to acquire Illinois bank

Advia Credit Union in Kalamazoo, Michigan, agreed to acquire NorthSide Community Bank in Gurnee, Illinois. The transaction, which is subject to regulatory and shareholder approval, is expected to be completed in the third quarter. With the acquisition, Advia will serve approximately 200,000 members with 32 branches in Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin. The $255 million-asset NorthSide has four branches in Illinois. "Advia continues to grow stronger and is well positioned for serving members throughout our multi-state region," Jeff Fielder, Advia's president and CEO, said in a press release announcing the deal. In 2023, NorthSide called off a planned sale to Credit Union 1 in Rantoul, Illinois. — Jim Dobbs

Valley National to sell commercial premium finance lending business

Valley National Bancorp in New York said it agreed to sell its commercial premium finance lending business and "a significant portion of its outstanding loan portfolio" in a deal expected to close in the first quarter, the company said in its earnings release. It did not identify the buyer. The business represented $274.7 million, or 0.55%, of Valley National's total loans outstanding at the close of 2023. Specific loans to be sold as part of the deal will be identified shortly before closing, the $61 billion-asset company said. Valley said the loans within the portfolio that it will retain are mostly expected to run off at their normal maturity dates over the next 12 months. It does not expect the transaction to prove material to its operations or earnings. — Jim Dobbs

Bank of America cuts more than 20 dealmaker jobs in Hong Kong

Bank of America cut more than 20 investment banking jobs in Hong Kong Tuesday, people familiar with the matter said. A handful of managing directors were let go in the latest round of cuts, including equity capital markets banker Sunil Khaitan and Winnie Ng, who covers Hong Kong and is co-head of Asia real estate, gaming and lodging, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private matters.

Global banks have been cutting China-focused bank jobs for more than a year as deals slow amid persistent geopolitical and growth concerns.

New York-based Bank of America asked about 40 bankers in Asia to seek jobs in other divisions last year as it sought to manage the industrywide decline while trying to avoid headcount. — Cathy Chan and Pei Li, Bloomberg News

EBANX’s annual study highlights India, Latin America and Africa

Leading payments platform EBANX launched its annual Beyond Borders study on the digital economy and digital payments in emerging markets this week. This year's report notes that clients in rising economies are boosting the global digital market by paying for online purchases with instant payments, transfers and other alternative payment methods — including for B2B transactions. India is taking the lead, having added 34 million people to its consumer class in the past year, while Africa and Latin America came in second and third, respectively. Consumer increase occurred in the digital commerce realm too, with Latin America and Africa's combined markets expected to surpass $1 trillion by 2026 while India's will be over $275 billion, per Payments and Commerce Market Intelligence data. Access the full report here. —Traci Parks

Visa forms five-year alliance with dispute-management firm

In a move to simplify management of transaction disputes, Visa has formed a five-year strategic alliance with ServiceNow, a Santa Clara, California-based firm, according to a press release. The AI-powered ServiceNow Disputes Management, built with Visa product launches next month, providing an automated process for resolving disputes such as accidental online purchases, fraudulent credit card charges, identity theft and incorrect payments to canceled subscriptions. ServiceNow's platform streamlines the process by connecting many disparate systems required to handle disputes, improving speed and compliance for banks. — Kate Fitzgerald