Bank Slate: Week in Review
Social media platform X plans its first digital wallet, while Wells Fargo is freed from another regulatory orders. These are among last week's biggest financial headlines.
Hello Bank Slaters!
Can you believe it is February? A month has already come and gone, folks.
Here are the notable financial services headlines from the past week.
The Big Headline
The Trump administration dismissed Rohit Chopra as CFPB director. While Chopra was tapped in 2021 for a five-year term, the Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that the president can fire the director at will. Chopra shared his resignation letter on X.
Separately, acting FDIC Chairman Travis Hill appeared remotely at AOBA to participate in a fireside chat with IntraFi’s Rob Blackwell. Hill emphasized a need to speed up and simplify merger approvals, while also expressing an interest in seeing the formation of more de novo banks.
And Another One
Several banks purged underwater securities in the fourth quarter, including Norwood Financial in Pennsylvania, First Foundation in Texas, First Bancorp in North Carolina, Flushing Financial in New York, and Central Pacific Financial in Hawaii.
One More
X, formerly Twitter, has inked a deal with Visa to launch a digital wallet and peer-to-peer payments services in a platform it is calling X Money Account.
M&A
Enterprise Bancorp in Massachusetts spoke to several banks about selling before agreeing to a deal with Independent Bank Corp. in Massachusetts.
Plumas Bancorp in Nevada agreed to buy Cornerstone Community Bancorp in California for $64.6 million in a deal expected to close in the second half of this year.
HomeTrust Bancshares in North Carolina is selling two branches in Knoxville, Tenn., to Apex Bank in Tennessee. The deal, which includes $42 million in deposits, is expected to close in the second quarter.
Arrivals | Departures
U.S. Bancorp in Minnesota said that Gunjan Kedia, its president, will succeed Andy Cecere as CEO at its annual meeting. Cecere will remain executive chairman.
Florida Bancshares hired John Zazzera as its president and CEO. He was COO at FundBank.
Bank of Frankewing in Tennessee hired Richard Burleson as its president and CEO. He was president and CEO of Community First Bank in South Carolina from 2015 to 2024.
Amalgamated Bank of Chicago promoted Nick Weaver to become its CEO. Weaver, who was president and COO, succeeded Robert Wrobel, who remains chairman.
(fin)tech
The CFPB ordered Wise to pay nearly $2.5 million to address claims that the U.K. remittance company advertised inaccurate fees and failed to properly disclose exchange rates and other costs.
Odds + Ends
First Savings Financial Group in Indiana sold a large pool of home equity lines of credit as it shifted from holding those assets to selling them.
Wells Fargo in San Francisco was released from a 2022 consent order with the CFPB tied to auto lending, consumer deposit accounts, and mortgage lending.
FB Bancorp in New Orleans warned that it will record a $5.8 million goodwill impairment charge tied to a decade-old acquisition of a mortgage originator.
Lake Shore Bancorp in New York is planning a second-step conversion to a fully stock-owned company.
WSFS Financial in Delaware reported slightly higher earnings despite an issue with a former client of its Cash Connect service.
Sandy Spring Bancorp in Maryland conducted some cleanup, in the form of a goodwill impairment charge, ahead of its planned sale to Atlantic Union Bankshares in Virginia.
Fulton Financial in Pennsylvania will close 15 branches in the coming months.
Remember, spring is around the corner!