Deposits

Amid waning federal support for community development financial institutions and minority depository institutions, a program launched by two banking trade groups is beginning to generate a steady stream of deposits for mission-focused lenders.

First Foundation is in transformation mode, after a capital infusion and new management gave it some power to remix its challenged balance sheet. But the bank just took its third quarterly loss out of the last four quarters.

The regional bank's cloud-based software platform will be one of the first of its kind, a top executive said Friday.

Prosperity Bancshares announced plans to buy Corpus Christi-based American Bank Holding Corp. in an all-stock deal.

The Republican Freedom Caucus wants to combine the market structure bill with another measure prohibiting the formation of a Central Bank Digital Currency. That move could tank the market structure bill's chances of becoming law, and with it the banking industry's best chances of getting its priorities enacted.

Both regional banks operate health savings account businesses, which could gain more customers, more fee revenue and more low-cost deposits if Congress includes a major HSA expansion in its final budget reconciliation bill.

A class action lawsuit against the bank's top executives and its auditor in connection with its 2023 failure was dismissed by a federal judge, who said the court did not have the authority to hear the case.

Regulators' decision to lift a seven-year-old cap on the size of the megabank's balance sheet will produce benefits over the long haul, but it won't result in any sudden gains, according to CFO Michael Santomassimo.

Some banks hope to use M&A as a way to play defense, either because they need to shore up their deposits or because they have aging CEOs and are looking for an exit. But investors aren't wild about the deal math.