North Carolina

SmartFinancial lined up a compelling merger with Entegra. Then a bigger bank offered more money and a higher premium.

Entegra Financial, which had a deal to be sold to SmartFinancial, has instead agreed to be sold to First Citizens, which offered more money and will pay a breakup fee for the initial deal.

The Raleigh, N.C.-based institution said it also has more than 500 employees.

The Minneapolis bank will open about 10 branches in North Carolina's largest city by the end of next year, adding to already intensifying competition among big banks.

The cold, hard truth of bank mergers is that rivals often steal top producers and convince customers the bigger bank won’t care about them anymore. The CEOs of the merging banks explain their retention efforts.

Tens of millions of dollars of M&A costs and a decline in mortgage activity offset higher loan income in the first quarter at the two banks, which also offered a timeline for their rebranding and shareholder votes.

The two banks will each give $15 million to the Foundation for the Carolinas, which supports affordable housing development in Mecklenburg County.

Commercial Bank of Ivanovo, in which former North Carolina Representative Charles Taylor owns an 80% stake, regularly broke anti-money-laundering regulations and used “schemes” to artificially inflate its capital, according to a central bank statement.

The North Carolina company was hit with a tax penalty tied to its purchase of Chattahoochee Bank of Georgia.

Community Bank of the Carolinas must raise about $4 million before becoming the state’s first new bank since the financial crisis.