Lower interest rates could bolster loan demand, credit quality and securities portfolios. But they could also curb lending profitability faster than they ease deposit costs, crimping net interest margins and eating into near-term profits.

The planned Altos Bank in Los Altos cleared a big hurdle this week when state regulators approved its application to open a startup bank. Organizers are hoping for a soft opening before year-end.

Increased demand from borrowers may hinge on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and his colleagues cutting interest rates this fall.

In a sea of generically named "First Banks of X" and "Community Banks of Y," financial institutions must decide if the painstaking rebranding process is worth the investment and risk to stand out.

Industry Bancshares got into a deep hole after rising interest rates tanked the value of its sizable bond portfolio. Now the Texas community bank is expecting a $195 million capital infusion and taking steps to start relying more on revenue from loans.

The Ames-based Ames National Corp. has watched its profits shrink over the past two years amid increased funding costs and stiff competition for deposits.

Shan Hanes, the former leader of Heartland Tri-State Bank, previously pleaded guilty to embezzling tens of millions of dollars in a cryptocurrency scheme that caused the Kansas bank's failure.

U.S. Eagle Federal Credit Union said it plans to acquire Southwest Capital Bank in a transaction slated to close next year. It would help the buyer expand its cannabis banking operation.

The planned Bay State deal comes two months after the Minneapolis-based Thrivent said it plans to merge a credit union it controls into a new industrial bank.

An amicus brief filed in a lawsuit challenging newly finalized implementing regulations for the Community Reinvestment Act argues that the court was chosen because plaintiffs believe the court is more likely to rule in their favor.

Currently sitting at 2,500, the in-store branch count appears fated to continue dropping, as customers opt for digital channels and banks shy away from models that emphasize overdraft.

A Northwest credit union announced plans this week to buy a community bank, lifting the 2024 total of such deals to 13 and putting the year on track to set a record. The all-time annual high of 16 was set in 2022.

The Chicago-area bank closed the fifth-largest deal announced this year in a matter of months. It may bode well for M&A, as several big transactions have been announced in 2024.

The dark secret about credit unions is that while rules have changed to allow them to make more commercial loans, their ability to underwrite those loans at scale is lacking. When the credit cycle turns, there's going to be a reckoning.

Some of the challenges Bank of Guam faces are unique. But its search for vendors and local talent will feel familiar to community banks across the U.S.

Though it hasn't set a timeline, Oxford Bank, based north of the Motor City, is weighing a southward expansion that would add all the Detroit metropolitan area to its footprint.

A judge postponed to Aug. 19 the scheduled sentencing date for Shan Hanes, the ex-CEO of Heartland Tri-State Bank who admitted to embezzling $47 million from the lender, leading to its downfall.

Fortuna Bank in Columbus would be the third U.S. bank specifically formed to be women-owned, according to its organizers. Supporters say it's another win toward obtaining gender-equitable capital access.

On the heels of a recent downgrade by one analyst, the Uniondale, New York-based Flushing is being challenged by veteran investor Larry Seidman to consider a sale of the company.

The pace of deal activity in 2024 is ahead of a year earlier, thanks in large part to summer momentum and a spate of all-stock deals. But an early August market rout created a new hurdle for dealmaking in the second half of the year.