With no settlement in sight, Spencer Savings Bank's case against a group of former depositors it says conspired with Larry Seidman to force a conversion appears headed for a courtroom battle.

The company said long-time chief executive Chuck Sulerzyski would retire in 2024 and be succeeded by Tyler Wilcox, Peoples' executive vice president of community banking.

The Kentucky company says its newly purchased equipment financing unit will strengthen its presence in the market for leasing office furniture, computers and other lower-cost essentials that customers will still buy in an unpredictable economy.

They're wary of deteriorating economic conditions and the bite higher interest rates could take out of profits, according to the latest index of small-bank executives' sentiments by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors. The index fell to its lowest level since it was created in 2019.

The acquisition of Malvern Bancorp, expected to close this month, would hasten First Bank's efforts to further fortify its footprint stretching from Philadelphia to New York City.

Under a written agreement, Quontic pledged not to distribute capital without the permission of its regulators. It's the third enforcement action in five years against the small New York-based bank.

The company's longtime chief executive, Mark Tryniski, plans to retire at the close of 2023. Dimitar Karaivanov, the current chief operating officer, will succeed him.

Byline Bancorp completed its acquisition of Inland Bancorp on time, avoiding the kind of regulatory delays that have dampened bank M&A activity for the past 18 months.

The Home Loan banks are failing to serve huge numbers of Americans because of their reliance on outdated credit scoring models.

In this annual list, American Banker examines key metrics of the 10 highest performing small regional banks.