Financial institutions

It would force national banks to make loans to high-risk industries that often pose dangers to vulnerable communities. The next comptroller of the currency should instead promote equal credit availability for consumers who need it most.

The Cleveland company will launch the service in March to broaden relationships its Laurel Road student loan refinancing unit has built with health care professionals.

Southern Bancorp, which recently raised $35 million in capital, agreed to acquire DeWitt First Bankshares, the parent of Arkansas County Bank.

Year to date through Sep. 30, 2020. Dollars in thousands.

Full-time equivalent, as of Sept. 30, 2020. Dollars in thousands.

Year to date through Sep. 30, 2020. Dollars in thousands.

The project will deploy $20 million as secondary capital to expand economic relief and financial inclusion, and follows a $1 million project last summer aimed at helping low-income consumers in Rust Belt cities.

The new global wealth division, which is being formed by combining the firm’s private bank with a unit that serves substantially less wealthy households, will be led by Citi veteran Jim O’Donnell.

Organizers of First Bank of Central Ohio will need to raise $20 million before it opens.

U.S. Bancorp says its agreement to buy a portfolio with $320 billion of assets under management will raise its profile on the West Coast. The MUFG unit plans to reinvest proceeds from the sale in other priorities.

On Sep. 30, 2020. Dollars in thousands.

On Sep. 30, 2020. Dollars in thousands.

Several consumer advocacy organizations have urged the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to deny the online lender's application for a national bank charter, citing concerns about its lending and debt-collection practices.

Triad Business Bank opened in North Carolina shortly before the launch of the Paycheck Protection Program, which brought in many clients. CEO Ramsey Hamadi, one of our community bankers to watch in 2021, will have to work hard to retain them after their loans are forgiven.

The switch to Thomas Cangemi from longtime CEO Joseph Ficalora could foreshadow a push to curtail the company’s reliance on multifamily lending and the pursuit of a bank acquisition that lowers funding costs.

Longtime chairman and CEO Joseph Ficalora will step aside Thursday as head of the regional bank and be succeeded by CFO Thomas Cangemi.

Organizers of the proposed Legacy Bank must raise $25 million before opening.

In the waning days of the Trump administration, the agency issued a new legal theory of its power to let national banks evade state consumer protection laws. But some state attorneys general and consumer groups charge the federal regulator is attempting to sidestep restrictions imposed by Dodd-Frank.

The Detroit automaker says it will stick to car loans and steer clear of mortgage lending if regulators approve its application to establish an industrial bank.

They're among a handful of companies willing to hold clients' digital assets for safekeeping. Many of their peers balk at the reputational and financial risks.