Agility Bank Receives Conditional Approval to Launch in Houston

On October 20, Houston-based Agility Bank (in organization) announced that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. have given conditional approval for its application to launch and operate a predominately digital community bank that is primarily owned and led by women. Agility Bank will begin raising $30 million in … Read more

The State of Play with CRA

If COVID-19 and an economic recession are not enough for you to deal with, here’s another regulatory issue that continues to loom over all banks—the Community Reinvestment Act. CRA Exams. First, CRA examinations and release of exam results continue. Lists of banks up for their exam are posted. These should be “virtual” exams in keeping … Read more

FDIC Launches Academic Challenge Focused on Community Banking

On September 18, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) announced the launch of the agency’s first-ever Academic Challenge, a competition among teams of university and college students to address questions concerning the U.S. banking sector. The topic for this inaugural challenge is “The Effects of Community Banks on Local Economic Development.” The FDIC’s Center for … Read more

FDIC Second Quarter Report: Community Banks Registered a 3.2 Percent Increase in Net Income

O n August 25, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) reported that commercial banks and savings institutions saw a decrease in net income of 70 percent from a year ago, while liquidity and capital levels remained very strong to meet loan demand and absorb any losses in the future. For the 5,066 commercial banks and … Read more

Nichols Elected to Hilltop Holdings Board of Directors

Tom Nichols

On August 20, Dallas-based Hilltop Holdings Inc. announced that Tom C. Nichols has been elected to the company’s board of directors, on which he will serve as a member of the risk committee and merger and acquisition committee. Nichols is the owner and CEO of Carlile Holdings Inc., a family investment office. He served as … Read more

TYME Bank Withdraws De Novo Application

On July 28, Farmers Branch-based TYME Bank withdrew its de novo application with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. due to economic uncertainty as COVID-19 cases started rising in the state, but the bank’s CEO says the company may resubmit its application as the economy improves, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. “Things started getting better, … Read more