Climate First Bank's fast-growing loan portfolio is creating the need for additional funding. In response, the Florida bank is rolling out a checking account that pays a high yield and also sends money to a nonprofit organization chosen by the customer.

Bankers largely agree that there should be reforms, but don't agree on which ones; plus, our second batch of best-performing banks.

In American Banker's ranking of banks with the strongest metrics, here is this year's list in the $2-$10 billion range, based on data from Capital Performance Group.

The House Financial Services Committee's Republican majority backed slower funds availability and declined to shift authorized-scam losses onto banks.

Optus Financial in South Carolina will acquire M&F Bancorp in North Carolina in a deal that's set to create one of the largest Black banks in the United States.

An OpenAI program managed to escape its sandbox, go out on the web and find another AI platform, and hack it. Not even OpenAI expected that.

The planned acquisition of Finward Bancorp would bolster the Ohio bank's growing Chicago-area franchise, creating a platform big enough to support an organic buildout.

The new Main Street Capital Access Act includes a provision that lowers the regional Federal Reserve banks' discretionary surplus, as well as a number of technical changes that committee aides hope will pry loose a few more Democratic votes.

The new law's reciprocal and custodial deposit provisions recognize what the evidence has shown for two decades. They should spur, not substitute for, the broader work of protecting America's depositors.

Bank7 CEO Tom Travis told analysts the court-ordered auction for a 71% stake in Century Bank should open in August.

Feeding vulnerabilities into Gold Eagle could expose a bank to regulators or lawsuits, a cybersecurity lawyer warns.

The deal is the latest in a series of acquisitions by bank core provider CSI, which is further expanding its offerings for regional and community banks.

The Honolulu-based company said it plans to acquire TriCo Bancshares in Chico, California, and retain all of the seller's 68 branches.

Jeff Sinnot, CEO of Vantage Bank and American Banker's 2026 Most Innovative Person In Finance, sits down with tech reporter Melinda Lucy to talk about the bank's diversified approach to digital assets and the opportunities the DeFi sector holds for community banks.

Kentland Federal became the third bank this year to fail; meanwhile, American Banker today publishes its list of the best-performing small banks.

In American Banker's ranking of banks with the strongest metrics, here is this year's list, based on 2025 data from Capital Performance Group.

The Denver-based bank reported that two loans soured, one due to fraud. A number of other lenders reported sizable fraud-related losses last fall.

As the deadline for President Donald Trump to sign or veto a housing package looms, hanging in the balance is a reciprocal deposit provision that would give small banks more room to compete for large corporate and municipal depositors.

The move is designed to align the two Utah-based businesses under a single unique name and comes two years after the bank acquired the home lender in 2024.

The Louisiana-based lender's acquisition of American Planning Corp. expands the list of advisory services it offers to other community banks.