Regional merger agreements and a conditional national bank charter

EverBank and WaFd agreed to a $3.9 billion reverse merger. The combined lender would have $75 billion in assets and $59 billion in deposits, with closing expected in the first quarter of 2027. WaFd would remain the holding company, but EverBank investors would own about 59.2%. Management projects $135 million in cost savings and 29% earnings-per-share accretion in 2027.

John Marshall Bancorp agreed to acquire Eagle Financial Services. The approximately $253 million all-stock merger prices Eagle at 130% of tangible book value. Combining the Virginia banking franchises would nearly triple John Marshall’s branch footprint and almost double its assets.

Equity Bancshares and First National of Nebraska agreed to separate acquisitions. Equity agreed to buy Lincoln Bancorp, parent of the $1.7 billion-asset Lincoln Savings Bank, for $123.8 million in cash and stock; closing is expected in the fourth quarter. First National agreed to pay $200 million to $204 million in cash for InBankshares, parent of the $1.4 billion-asset InBank.

Chime agreed to buy Stride Bank for $590 million in cash. The purchase of its longtime bank partner is expected to close in the first half of 2027, subject to OCC and Federal Reserve approvals. Chime says owning the bank would let it launch products faster and reduce reliance on bank partners; the acquisition has not closed.

Bank7 amended its agreement to acquire control of Century Financial Services. The amended agreement calls for Bank7 to acquire approximately 71% for $68 million following a court-supervised auction. The filing reports an agreement amendment, not a completed acquisition.

Arrow Financial filed combined financial information for its Adirondack acquisition. The September 14 filing presents historical results and merger-related adjustments on a pro forma combined basis, providing a view of the acquisition’s combined financials rather than a new transaction agreement.

OpenReserve Bank received conditional OCC approval for a new national bank. Its planned model includes blockchain infrastructure, tokenized deposits and banking-as-a-service. The proposed bank faces a $210 million initial capital requirement and a 12% tier 1 leverage ratio; conditional approval is not an opened bank.

OCC and FDIC finalized a higher threshold for supervisory criticism. The rule focuses formal exam findings on risks with a material financial impact, narrowing criticism of smaller weaknesses. Banks may therefore have to identify emerging risks without the same level of formal examiner prompting.

United Community Banks completed its Navitas sale and securities repositioning. The company increased its share-repurchase authorization alongside those completed actions. Its filing cites balance-sheet simplification and stronger earnings as objectives, without quantifying an earnings benefit.

FDIC can retain $1.71 billion sought by SVB Financial creditors. A federal judge ruled that the agency need not return funds SVB Financial had deposited at Silicon Valley Bank, blocking parent-company creditors from recovering that amount.

Huntington named Brant Standridge president under its succession plan. American Banker reports that his expanded remit adds commercial banking and payments to consumer and regional banking. Steve Steinour said he expects to remain CEO for around two more years; the promotion does not itself change the chief executive.