The community bank CEO and Most Powerful Women to Watch honoree sits for an exit interview on what bankers face as her term running the American Bankers Association ends.

As new hires generate low-cost deposits and higher-yielding business loans, the New York company's net interest margin is widening. Dime executives signaled the hiring will resume in 2025.

Other acquisitive executives, however, say that interest rate cuts have hastened already-active deal discussions, as more banks seek scale and business line diversity.

The merged company's footprint would cover what Atlantic Union CEO John Asbury has called the golden crescent, stretching from Baltimore south to Hampton Roads.

The Arkansas bank said CRE is no longer its principal growth driver, yet it is still the bank's most prominent business and a big part of its robust lending activity.

He will succeed Kevin Riley, who previously announced plans to step down this year. Reuter retired last spring after leading FirstBank Holding in Colorado since 2017.

First State Bank of Purdy is on the forefront of new technology from Jack Henry & Associates thanks to the decades-long relationship between the bank and Jack Henry himself.

The Honolulu-based bank's board continues to recommend selling to Hope Bancorp in Los Angeles, despite a competing offer that includes a higher price tag.

The veteran turnaround executive was hired in 2020 to salvage the troubled banking company after the Justice Department launched a far-reaching probe of its mortgage lending practices. It agreed to sell to Florida-based EverBank.

Financial institutions are on the front lines of relief efforts in Tennessee and North Carolina, while in Florida, Hurricane Milton threatens to deal a second blow.

River Run Bancorp near Boston said it would acquire Rollstone Bank and Trust, adding to a string of industry combinations as M&A activity gathers momentum in the second half of 2024.

Honolulu-based Territorial Bancorp is delaying the approval vote by about four weeks in order to continue discussions with its shareholders. A group that includes a former Bank of Hawaii CEO is trying to scuttle the $78 million deal with Los Angeles-based Hope Bancorp.

Despite strong growth and solid profits, the Miami-based lender, formerly a business development company, still hasn't convinced the market it fits in as a bank.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chair Martin Gruenberg said an FDIC study proves relationship-driven lending practices remain crucial to small-business lending and economic stability, despite technological advancements in the banking industry.

As part of a wide-ranging speech on community bank oversight, the Federal Reserve governor said business models should determine regulatory scrutiny rather than asset size.

New Canaan-based Bankwell's digital solution relies on software designed by Lendio to compress the application-to-funding interval and appeal to speed-conscious small-business owners.

The Miami-area bank long ago exited New York and has plans to leave Texas, as CEO Jerry Plush expands its footprint in the Sunshine State. The shift comes as the bank, which competes in Florida with many out-of-state banks, is set to cross $10 billion of assets.

Multiple lenders recruited and promoted from within to fill leadership posts. Orrstown Financial Services disclosed the retirement of its planned CEO successor.

The Chicago-based bank said it would acquire First Security Bancorp in Elmwood Park. The transaction would push it close to $10 billion of assets.

An American Bankers Association panel of forecasters predicted slower growth, but it said the U.S. economy would likely avoid a recession, sparing lenders deep credit quality woes.