Banking

Bank of Commerce in Sarasota, Fla., will change hands following a bankruptcy auction.

The Massachusetts banker is honored for her commitment to financial education and entrepreneurship.

Large banks aren't the only financial institutions producing up-and-coming executives. Five executives on American Banker's list of Women to Watch hold key positions at banks with less than $30 billion in assets.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp in Pittsfield, Mass., has agreed to buy the assets and certain liabilities of a wealth management firm in Vermont.

Salem Five Bancorp has agreed to buy Georgetown Bancorp in a deal that will combine two Massachusetts banks.

Banks must work to attract a diverse workforce through recruiting efforts, and to close the retention gap that sees institutions lose a higher percentage of women leaders compared to those who are men.

Cross-border payments are a complex and global system, so it's no surprise that modernizing this process would require a partnership that spans multiple continents and a relatively new and experimental technology.

The 1.35% delinquency rate was the lowest since at least 2001, and it marked nearly four years of delinquencies below the 15-year average of 2.21%.

Community bankers say that reclassifying "reciprocal deposits" as a less risky type of deposit will help them to compete with large banks. Some deposit brokers are crying foul, arguing that the proposed legislation would put them at a competitive disadvantage. Observers, meanwhile, say the bill is so narrowly written that it would hardly affect competition.

The $20 billion-asset Iberiabank said in a press release Wednesday that it invested $1.5 million for a less than 5% stake in Liberty Financial Services in New Orleans.

The agency said Wednesday it has received more than 500,000 comments on the proposal — and many more may be filed in the coming days.

Umpqua Holdings in Portland, Ore., has formed a corporate lending office and hired Richard Cabrera to oversee it.

Several southeastern CUs have already closed or are planning closures as the storm approaches.

Julio Alejandro, CEO of Humanitarian Blockchain in London, thinks so. Some of his projects, such as providing bitcoin Visa debit cards to refugees and digital identities for ex-cons, are ideas financial services firms could implement here.

Bankers already scrambling to comply with a number of different federal cybersecurity standards are raising concerns about a proposal from New York to layer on some additional state rules.

First Bancorp in San Juan, Puerto Rico, has added a managing director from a New York private equity firm to its board.

Xenith Bankshares in Richmond, Va., had added a former chief executive of Amalgamated Bank to its board.

Popular Inc. in San Juan, Puerto Rico, will take a $55 million hit to third-quarter earnings after its bank lost an arbitration battle with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Dollar Bank in Pittsburgh ended a 32-year break from acquisitions earlier this year. It didn’t take nearly that long for the $7.4 billion-asset mutual to announce its next deal.

First Community Bancshares in Bluefield, Va., has sold four insurance offices.