Western Alliance unifies under one brand

July 18, 2025 2:55 PM

In this week's banking news roundup: Western Alliance Bancorporation plans to discard six brand names to unify under the Western Alliance Bank moniker; longtime JPMorgan advisor Vishal Idnani will be Western Alliance's next CFO; First Community in Lexington, South Carolina, is acquiring Signature Bank of Georgia; and more.

Western Alliance to unify banking operations under one brand

The banking subsidiary of Western Alliance Bancorporation plans to discard six brand names it's long used in various locales and to unify under the Western Alliance Bank moniker.

The old brand names — Alliance Association Bank, Alliance Bank of Arizona, Bank of Nevada, Bridge Bank, First Independent Bank and Torrey Pines Bank — will be gone by the end of the year, the Phoenix-based company said.

Western Alliance, which has 17 national business lines and more than 3,500 employees, already operates its banking divisions under the same charter, the company said in a press release,

"As we move forward as one brand, our clients will enjoy seamless access to specialized services available through our national business lines, delivered by people they trust," President and CEO Ken Vecchione said in the release. "Clients will continue to work with the bankers they know. Relationships will remain exactly as they are today." —Kevin Wack

Two community banks in the South plan to merge

First Community in Lexington, South Carolina, will acquire Signature Bank of Georgia, based in Sandy Springs, Georgia, in an all-stock deal valued at about $41.6 million, the two companies announced in a press release.

The combined company would have $2.3 billion in assets and operate 23 offices in the two states, the companies said. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026, pending regulatory approval.

Signature Chairman and CEO Freddie Deutsch will shift into the role of regional market president and director of specialty business lending at First Community Bank, the banking arm of First Community. Two current Signature directors will join First Community's board of directors.

"Signature's deep local relationships, talented leadership team, and specialized lending capabilities, especially in SBA, will significantly enhance our presence and service offerings across all of our combined markets," First Community CEO Michael Crapps said in the release.—Allissa Kline

Vishal Idnani will join Western Alliance as next CFO

Western Alliance announced a shift in leadership this week, with Vishal Idnani joining the company as CFO, effective Jan. 2, 2026, and longtime CFO Dale Gibbons transitioning to a new position focused on the company's organic deposit strategy.

Idnani has served as a trusted advisor to over 50 regional banks, including Western Alliance, during two decades at JPMorgan, where he currently serves as managing director in the financial institutions group.

"Enlisting a senior leader with an in-depth understanding of our strengths and appreciation of our culture gives me great confidence that he will be an exceptional asset to our leadership team and to Western Alliance as a whole," Western Alliance President and Chief Executive Officer Ken Vecchione said in a Thursday press release.

Throughout Dale Gibbons' tenure as CFO since 2003, Western Alliance has consistently achieved outstanding financial results, "helping to shape our organization as one of the country's top-performing institutions," Vecchione said in the release. —Editorial Staff

Visa, ICBA Payments renew partnership

ICBA Payments and Visa renewed a decades-long partnership this week in which ICBA will continue its sponsored Visa card program.

The Independent Community Bankers of America's payments arm provides payment solutions to community banks, including debit and credit card issuance and tokenization services for digital wallets, as well as program management services such as cardholder communications or marketing. The renewed partnership plans to expand access to Visa Direct, the card network's real-time money movement service.

Visa and ICBA Payments have had a partnership for more than four decades, according to the company. ICBA is the tenth largest debit card issuer in the U.S. —Joey Pizzolato

Payment volume, transaction size gain on RTP Network in Q2

The Clearing House's real-time payments network logged an increase in payment volume and transaction amounts in the second quarter thanks to increased limit thresholds.

During the second quarter, the RTP Network averaged 1.18 million payments per day and processed $481 billion in payments, a 195% increase from the previous quarter. TCH attributed the jump to its $10 billion transaction limit, which was increased from $1 million in February.

Transaction volume rose 8% to 107 million payments, according to TCH. Average payment size also reported a meteoric rise, surging 376% to $4,000 in June, up from $842 in January. —Joey Pizzolato

Citi to Sell India Retail Unit for $1.6 Billion to Axis Bank

Daniel Acker/Photographer: Daniel Acker

Citigroup’s India commercial banking chief Vohra exits

Citigroup's India head of commercial banking, Bhanu Vohra, is leaving after about two and a half decades with the bank, according to people familiar with the matter.

Vohra, a veteran banker who most recently led a team that provides global banking solutions to Indian midsize companies, is now on gardening leave and is exploring other career opportunities, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. He resigned a few weeks ago, they said.

A Citi spokesperson said the bank will soon announce Vohra's successor, confirming his resignation. Vohra didn't reply to a request for comment.

Vohra was a managing director who joined Citi in 2000 and worked in a variety of roles including in operations, transaction banking and global markets.

Citi has reshuffled leadership roles in India this year. K Balasubramanian has becomeCEO of India, while Ashu Khullar now co-leads the London-based global asset-managers team. —Saikat Das, Bloomberg News

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BrightBridge and Arrha credit unions announce plan to merge

Massachusetts-based BrightBridge Credit Union and Arrha Credit Union announced their intent to merge this week. BrightBridge will be the continuing institution, expanding its field of membership to serve the Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties in Massachusetts, and Hartford and Tolland counties in Connecticut.

If approved by members of both credit unions and regulators, the combined credit union will have 23 retail branches and provide shared branching across the U.S. Together, they will have combined assets of nearly $2.4 billion and approximately 125,000 members.

"We're so excited about this opportunity to unite with another credit union that shares our values and commitment to putting members first," said BrightBridge President & CEO John J. Howard in a Wednesday press release.

"Together, we'll be stronger and better equipped to serve our members' evolving financial needs," said Michael Ostrowski, president & CEO of Arrha Credit Union.Both organizations have committed to transparency and open communication with members throughout the merger process. —Traci Parks

Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

Citi poaches two senior JPMorgan bankers in hiring push

Citigroup is hiring two of JPMorganChase's senior bankers, as the lender continues to tap its Wall Street rival for talent to bolster its own investment banking division.

Aloke Gupte is joining Citigroup as global co-head of Citigroup's equity capital markets business, and Alex Watkins will take up the newly created role of head of technology financing, according to an internal memo seen by Bloomberg News. The bankers jointly ran JPMorgan's ECM business outside the U.S.

Gupte will remain in London for his new role and co-run ECM with Doug Adams. Watkins will relocate to San Francisco and work across both debt and equity financing in the technology sector.

The new hires will report to Achintya Mangla, who leads Citi's financing business. A spokesperson for Citigroup confirmed the contents of the memo. A representative for JPMorgan declined to comment.

Citigroup has been strengthening its investment banking business under Vis Raghavan, who joined Citi from JPMorgan to help the bank gain market share. —Dinesh Nair and Swetha Gopinath, Bloomberg News