Mutual banks

Reading Cooperative's combination with Wakefield Cooperative, the third deal involving Boston-area banks announced in the past month, would create a $1.2 billion community bank.

River Run Bancorp near Boston said it would acquire Rollstone Bank and Trust, adding to a string of industry combinations as M&A activity gathers momentum in the second half of 2024.

Advocates for depositor-owned banks hope Warsaw Federal's $5 million capital raise will serve as a template for institutions in need of more capital than retained earnings can provide.

A pair of mutual banks in Maryland and New York that sold minority stakes more than a decade ago are pursuing second-step offerings that will result in both becoming fully stock-traded companies.

Savarese was drawn to a career in the financial services industry after witnessing firsthand how economic stability can improve the lives of others. She then spent 17 successful years running the Massachusetts mutual.

Spencer Savings in New Jersey is taking investor Larry Seidman to court, alleging he's conspiring with other customers to convert the bank to stock ownership. Seidman says it's a farce: "I'm in a conspiracy with people I don't know."

Mutual banks tend to combine only with fellow mutuals. Spencer Savings' deal to acquire a stock-traded rival shows how the pressure to expand is forcing some buyers to get creative.

The depositor-owned banks are discouraged from participating in the Emergency Capital Investment Program because they can't issue preferred stock to back loans for underserved communities. It's another reason to overhaul their capital rules, mutuals argue.

Though it is unclear why Rhinebeck Bancorp is looking to form Rhinebeck Commercial Bank, other mutual banks have pursued the strategy to work around a state law barring them from working with municipalities.

Jane Allerman-Rey, the mutual's chief operating officer, will take on the new role in January.