Investors worry the intersection of rising interest rates and festering inflation could conjure a recession and drive loan losses. This would keep stock prices suppressed, but share buybacks and merger activity could counter that.

Eric Bergevin, president and CEO of Integrated Financial Holdings, was killed in the Jan. 7 accident, the company said.

The bank hired an executive from The Bancorp to manage its risk operations after the incumbent, Jeff Curry, announced his retirement.

The deal would create a $3.2 billion-asset bank with branches in four states, including an expanded presence in Texas.

Christopher Oddleifson plans to step down from the Massachusetts bank in February. The company named Jeffrey Tengel, most recently an executive at M&T Bank, as successor.

The Tupelo, Mississippi-based institution hasn't made a bank deal since 2018, but it has acquired two asset-based lenders in the past 10 months.

The California bank, which owns the technology underlying the Diem stablecoin from Meta, said its deposits plunged 68% in the fourth quarter but that it has more than enough cash on hand to weather the storm.

Rising interest rates and the potential for weakening economic activity could result in moderating loan demand in the new year. Some bankers are already being more selective in their lending.

Minority depository institutions have limited budgets and staff to upgrade their technology. Some are turning to secondment programs and like-minded fintechs to tackle these problems.

A new app for people with a criminal past and a challenger bank "of immigrants for immigrants" are among the neobanks forging their own path in the banking world.