Net closings rose to the highest quarterly level in nearly three years. As M&A rebounds, banks are also trimming their physical footprints as customer demand for digital services overshadow in-person transactions.

There is a major opportunity out there, especially for community banks, to displace predatory lenders and earn a healthy return at the same time. It's just a question of making the leap.

Kelly Loeffer would lead an agency that is critically important to community banks, which make tens of billions of dollars in loans annually under its largest loan program.

Donald Felix, who spent a quarter century at some of the nation's largest banks, took the helm at Carver Bancorp last month. Felix is devising a plan to return the 76-year-old Black-managed company to profitability.

Primis Financial had to delay several reports to the SEC due to an accounting misclassification error, which raised the possibility that the bank's stock would no longer trade on Nasdaq. Executives say they're "optimistic about putting this behind us."

The Greenville, South Carolina-based company said it would pay $80 million in stock to acquire ANB Holdings and its Miami-area bank.

The Delaware-based bank filed a complaint against two companies that built a WSFS logo display in downtown Philadelphia. Part of the signage eventually broke off in what the bank called an "almost-tragedy."

Several companies filled leadership posts throughout the country, including Clarion County Community Bank's hiring of Travis Heiser to become its CEO.

The Boca Raton, Florida company is seeking to attract deposits with a product that more closely resembles the strategy many fintechs typically employ.

"Too big to fail" banking giants like to masquerade as community banks when it suits their purposes, but they will never be able to replace real, local bankers with deep ties to their customers.