Seven of the 20 top-performing banks with $2 billion to $10 billion of assets last year were based in Texas. But it's not about being bigger.

Banks that kept a lid on their cost of funds managed to outperform their peers, illustrating the fact that 2024 was a defensive year for the industry.

First Northwest Bancorp is parting ways with CEO Matt Deines "by mutual agreement," the Port Angeles, Washington-based company said. Deines' departure comes a month after a hedge fund sued, alleging the lender was complicit in a Ponzi scheme.

Bill Martin, a real estate developer and athletics executive who founded the community bank in 1996, said he considers the privately held institution to be "like one of my kids."

Business First Bancshares CEO Jude Melville and Progressive Bancorp head George Cummings are both second-generation bank CEOs — common ground that helped propel an $83 million merger deal.

The parent company of Wayne Bank said it would buy PB Bankshares for $54.9 million in cash and stock.

Baton Rouge-based Business First Bancshares would pad its margin as Louisiana's largest state-chartered bank with an all-stock deal for Progressive Bancorp.

Community banks that could reel in cheap deposits while keeping a lid on expenses were able to outperform peers in 2024.

Baton Rouge-based Investar Holding Corp. has agreed to pay $84 million for Wichita Falls Bancshares, which operates five branches in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

Dime Community Bancshares, which has added dozens of bankers over the past two years, is now ready to consider expanding its geography.

The Missouri bank surveyed consumers about what kind of financial management tools they use, then built its My Finance360 tool in response.

The Santa Anna National Bank in Central Texas is the second bank to fail this year.

Richmond, Virginia-based Atlantic Union Bankshares has sold $2 billion in performing commercial real estate loans to Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies. 

How Capital Performance Group conducted its rankings analysis.

The prolific purchaser is entering the state in a bid to expand its Southwest presence.

Cincinnati-based First Financial scooped up Westfield Bank near Cleveland after Westfield's parent company decided to exit the bank space and focus on its core insurance business.

Barely two years after adopting a bank charter, NewtekOne in Florida plans to expand beyond its roots as an SBA 7(a) lender by growing its alternative loan program.

The Florida bank plans to expand its solar lending operations while Senate Republicans look to end most tax breaks for clean energy.

Lipkin, who built Valley National Bancorp from a small community bank into a regional institution with 200 branches in four states, passed away this week at age 84.

The CEO of First Northwest Bancorp is promising to fight a lawsuit claiming the lender helped a client perpetrate a Ponzi scheme that bilked a hedge fund out of more than $100 million.