Retail
Mercury Bank CEO Jon Auxier said at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's annual fintech conference that pursuing a bank charter must be a fintech's top priority to succeed. Mercury applied for a national bank charter in December and aims to launch Mercury Bank by late 2027. Auxier, who helped lead SoFi's charter implementation, emphasized that charter preparation affects every function. SoFi Bank EVP Eric Schuppenhauer and Square Financial Services CEO Richard Rosenthal also shared insights on mindset, hiring, and the benefits of strong supervision.
Peoples Bancorp of Marietta, Ohio, announced Wednesday it will acquire Rockville, Maryland-based Capital Bancorp in a $728 million all-stock deal. The merger will strengthen Peoples' foothold in the Washington, D.C. metro area, where it first gained a presence through its 2021 acquisition of Premier Financial. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2027, creating a combined company with approximately $14 billion in total assets, $10 billion in loans, $11 billion in deposits, and over 150 banking locations across eight states and Washington, D.C. Capital shareholders will receive 1.11 shares of Peoples common stock for each Capital share, valuing the transaction at $43.75 per share based on Peoples' 20-day volume-weighted average closing price of $39.41 as of Tuesday. The acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to Peoples' estimated 2027 earnings before one-time costs, with a tangible book value earnback period of less than three years. Three Capital board members will join Peoples' board after closing. This is Peoples' second acquisition of 2026, following its planned purchase of Citizens Bank of Kentucky, which received final regulatory approvals on Monday.
Greg Keeley has departed as chief operations officer of SMBC Americas, according to an internal email from CEO Hiro Otsuka. Masahiro Yoshimura, deputy CEO of SMBC Americas, will take on responsibility for the COO organization on an interim basis, effective immediately. Keeley joined SMBC in April 2025 after seven years at TD and nearly 22 at American Express. His executive biography has been removed from the SMBC website. The move comes as SMBC pursues operational changes in the U.S., including recruiting in Charlotte, North Carolina, winding down its Jenius digital banking platform, and selling branches and assets to Axos Bank and Bank of Hope.
Valley National Bancorp, based in Morristown, New Jersey, has agreed to acquire Bluevine, a Jersey City-based small-business banking fintech, for $340 million in cash and stock. The deal, projected to close in early 2027, will bring Valley about $2.1 billion in deposits and expand its small-business customer base by 20 times. Bluevine, founded in 2013, has about 175,000 active small-business customers and provides digital banking, payments, lending, and financial management solutions. The acquisition also includes Bluevine's technology and AI capabilities, with about 180 R&D employees joining Valley. Bluevine CEO Eyal Lifshitz will join Valley as head of small-business banking. The deal consideration is 75% cash and 25% Valley stock, with expected earnings per share accretion of about 8% and tangible book value dilution of about 5% at closing. Valley executives said they do not anticipate pursuing additional acquisitions for the foreseeable future, following the recent announcement of another deal for Providence Financial Corp.
Huntington Bank has appointed Ameesh Vakharia as chief marketing and digital products officer, uniting its marketing and digital efforts into one team. In an interview, Vakharia explains how the combined structure aims to deliver consistent brand and product experiences across channels, the role of data and AI in personalization, and the bank's focus on customer-centric innovation as it expands across 21 states with $284 billion in assets.
WestStar Bank has agreed to acquire Albuquerque-based Southwest Capital Bank in a deal expected to close in the first quarter of 2027. The transaction will expand WestStar's New Mexico presence from one branch to seven and create a lender with $3.8 billion in assets, $3.3 billion in deposits and $2.9 billion in loans. Financial terms were not disclosed. Southwest Capital CEO Chez Steel will become the combined bank's New Mexico president. The deal follows the collapse of Southwest Capital's proposed acquisition by U.S. Eagle Federal Credit Union in 2024 after failing to receive regulatory approval.
Bank of America is aggressively hiring and developing business bankers to capture the growing opportunity in small-business banking, according to Sharon Miller, president of business banking. Competition for talent has intensified, with job openings at major competitors up over 105% from last year. BofA is focusing on internal talent development, hiring from banks of all sizes, and leveraging its national reach and AI tools to speed up credit underwriting. The bank serves about 3.4 million small and midsize clients and aims to reach 30% business client share in its markets, up from the current 27.6% national average. Miller emphasized the importance of relationship-building and in-person outreach despite digital advancements.
Portrait Bank, central Florida's first de novo in nearly a decade, opened Saturday after receiving final approval from the Florida Office of Financial Regulation three months ago. Led by banking veteran Erik Weiner, the bank raised $43 million from 256 local investors, exceeding the roughly $28 million regulators required. After gaining its charter in June, the team spent the summer onboarding small to mid-size businesses, individuals, and private wealth clients. Weiner said consolidation has cut the number of banks headquartered in central Florida from 38 in 2000 to about half a dozen, reducing personalized service and local decision-making. Portrait aims to serve the growing region, where Orlando's population expanded 1.3% in 2025, above Florida's 0.8% growth rate.
Ally has launched its Loyally rewards program, aimed at deepening customer engagement and primacy. The digital bank, which piloted the program earlier this year and rolled it out to all customers in May, seeks to build on its high-yield savings legacy and grow relevancy in everyday spending and investing. Ally's retail bank had about 3.6 million customers as of the second quarter, up 7% year over year, with about $144 billion in deposit balances. The program offers everyday perks, experiences, and personalized offers, with no fees and no minimum balance requirements. About 75% of new checking and savings customers are Gen Z and millennials, who are the highest users of the program. Ally declined to disclose its investment in the program but called it a long-term commitment to deepening customer relationships.
Beacon Financial, formed a year ago from the merger of Brookline Bank and Berkshire Bank, has named COO Sean Gray as its new president and CEO, effective Monday. Gray succeeds Paul Perrault, who announced his retirement last week. Perrault will remain a consultant for a year at $120,000 per month and stay eligible for a 2026 performance bonus. Gray, who joined Berkshire in 2006 and served as its president and COO from 2018 to 2025, also led the merger integration. Board chair David Brunelle called Gray's appointment a catalyst for the company's next phase of profitable growth. Analysts said the move resolves investor questions about succession planning. Beacon, with $22.3 billion in assets, completed its core systems conversion and rebranding in February and had realized $52 million in projected cost savings by July.