A U.S. central bank digital currency is coming, and what form it takes could spell opportunity — or trouble — for the banking industry.

The Louisiana-based company is among a growing number of community banks that have taken on new talent in the wake of competitors' consolidation.

The $3 billion-asset company is expecting to add seven branches in the northwestern part of the state, and to expand its commercial lending business in the Toledo market, with the acquisition of Comunibanc Corp.

Some community banks and credit unions worry that by hiring out-of-state workers to fill their many job openings, as other employers have done, they could erode community ties.

Newity was founded to buy and administer Paycheck Protection Program loans. Now that the program has ended, the company is teaming with a bank on a platform that offers Small Business Administration 7(a) loans.

The last three months of 2021 were strong for most lenders, which will report results soon. But the outlook for the coming months has been clouded by the spread of the newest coronavirus variant, which has many banks grappling with staffing shortages and branch restrictions.

On Sep. 30, 2021. Dollars in thousands.

On Sep. 30, 2021. Dollars in thousands.

The new business line is part of a broader expansion plan the Pennsylvania bank announced in 2021.

The bank, which donated a total of $1.6 million in 2020 and 2021, endowed the new organization with $4 million.

The community bank leverage ratio is set to revert to its prepandemic level of 9% on Jan. 1. Bankers say the move is premature and are supporting a bill that would keep the ratio at or below 8.5% through 2024.

The community bank said it would will not renew their employment contracts, which terminate March 20, but that it intends to keep them as executives.

To strengthen ties with entrepreneurs, Citizens Bank of Edmond in Oklahoma and the de novo Genesis Bank in California offer co-working, education and other resources.

These executives are adapting to changing customer demands amid rebounding M&A and coronavirus-related challenges.

The state Department of Financial Protection and Innovation issued a cease-and-desist order against Nano Banc, saying the troubled bank violated an earlier consent agreement when it replaced five board members and appointed a new CEO without the regulator’s permission.

The Oklahoma bank is eager to take the ground some competitors are ceding in oil and gas financing.

Alloy Labs Alliance, a consortium of community banks, is working with the fintech Payrailz on a project called "Chuck" that would route peer-to-peer payments over different networks, based on which is least expensive for each transaction.

The acquisition would give Avadian, which is based in Birmingham, two more locations in its home state and increase its assets to approximately $1.2 billion.

The Arkansas bank is working with 10 universities' athletic departments to create programs for women it hopes will one day join its ranks.

The Louisiana-based Home has agreed to pay $66.6 million for the $445 million-asset bank.