On Mar. 31, 2021. Dollars in thousands.

On Mar. 31, 2021. Dollars in thousands.

First Midwest Bancorp in Chicago and Old National Bancorp in Evansville, Indiana, agreed to an all-stock merger-of-equals that would create a $45 billion-asset Midwestern regional player.

Nearly a quarter of Black business owners seeking Paycheck Protection Program loans last year applied to fintechs — not far behind the percentage that turned to community banks, according to a New York Fed study. Deepening those new relationships could be a major source of growth for online lenders.

The seemingly expensive acquisition of Aquesta Financial Holdings is the cost of expanding in North Carolina's largest city.

Huntingdon Valley Bank in Pennsylvania and First Savings Bank in Indiana are among the banks extending their relationships with software providers to make small-business lending more efficient after the Paycheck Protection Program is phased out.

The Indiana company is buying 14 branches that Huntington Bancshares is divesting as a condition of its deal to buy TCF Financial.

Cypress Trust in Palm Beach is poised to pull off a rarity: the conversion of a wealth management firm into a community bank. It’s simply another way to take advantage of the ongoing melding of the two financial services sectors, CEO Dana Kilborne says.

Under a plan signed into law in March, the agency will first target direct loans that it has made to socially disadvantaged farmers. Guidance that will affect small banks that have made government-backed agricultural loans is due in 120 days.

The pandemic was certainly a factor, but the Mississippi company says its decision to concentrate interactive teller machines in drive-through lanes and retrain employees who appear on-screen made a big — and potentially lasting — difference.

The Massachusetts bank, which traditionally In contrast to its typical strategy of supporting low-income housing, the invested $500,000 in CEI Ventures’ Coastal Ventures V fund to support small businesses in disadvantaged communities.

The target is among the top-performing banks in Utah and the only bank in a five-state region with assets between $3 billion and $10 billion.

Instead of injecting cash into Commonwealth National Bank, Regions Bank is taking a more targeted approach: providing funding for the community development financial institution to hire a commercial banker.

On Dec. 31, 2020. Dollars in thousands.

On Dec. 31, 2020. Dollars in thousands.

American State would be the largest bank buyout for Equity, which has acquired 17 banks since 2003.

The legislation would bar firms that receive government contracts from discriminating against firearms companies. Smaller banks have quietly dropped their opposition in hopes of gaining more municipal bond business.

In letters to regulators and lawmakers, bankers and their trade groups argued that deals like Vystar Credit Union's proposed acquisition of a small Georgia bank could result in less community development lending and declines in federal tax receipts.

Companies from Bank of America to PlainsCapital have ditched dull webinars and found more engaging ways to train workers to show empathy to clients and explain bank programs.

Michael Butler relied on partnerships with tech startups in areas such as checking and mobile banking to turn Radius into a digital-only bank before its sale to LendingClub. As the new CEO of Grasshopper Bank, he plans to strike similar deals to expand beyond business lending.