Community Bankers Launch IBAT Loan Marketplace to Streamline Portfolio Management

On October 3, the Independent Bankers Association of Texas (IBAT) announced that it has teamed up with Community Capital Technology Inc., a newly endorsed provider of the community banking organization, to offer IBAT Loan Marketplace, a digital platform designed to empower Texas community banks to buy, sell, participate in and originate loans more transparently and … Read more

BOC Bank Taps Ferrell as Chief Technology Officer, Jay as Chief Operating Officer

Amarillo-based BOC Bank recently announced that Shane Ferrell has been promoted to chief technology officer/senior vice president of strategy and innovation, and Steven Jay has joined the bank as chief operating officer. Ferrell and Jay both began their new roles in February. The bank’s current technology team is on the cusp of rolling out a … Read more

Bankers Helping Bankers to Launch ‘Test Pilots’ Program, Offering Community Banks Opportunities to Test Fintech Products and Services

As the Bankers Helping Bankers (BHB) network expands, community banks can now participate in BHB’s new Test Pilots program and be among the innovative bankers to test fintech products and services. These screened, early-stage fintech companies need the partnership of banks to establish their viability in providing stable solutions for the banking industry. “The BHB … Read more

Lendistry Expands to the Lone Star State with Funding of $5 Million Provided by Texas Capital Bank

On August 9, Lendistry, a minority-led and technology-enabled small business and commercial real estate lender, announced plans to support underserved small businesses across Texas thanks to the funding of $5 million provided by Dallas-based Texas Capital Bank. The partnership allows Lendistry to open a physical location in Dallas—its first in Texas—and provide access to capital … Read more

CSI Partners with Bankers Helping Bankers to Support Community Banks with Innovative Fintech Solutions

Paducah, Kentucky-based Computer Services Inc. (CSI), a leading provider of end-to-end fintech and regtech solutions, has partnered with Bankers Helping Bankers to further the organization’s mission of empowering community banks. Established by FedFis and the Independent Bankers Association of Texas (IBAT) in late 2021, Bankers Helping Bankers connects bankers nationwide so that they can identify … Read more

Bankers Helping Bankers Announces Launch of Venture Capital Fund

On July 12, Bankers Helping Bankers (BHB) announced the launch of the Bankers Helping Bankers Fund (BHB Fund), a fintech venture capital fund managed by Latitude38 Venture Partners. The fund will support community bankers’ engagement with emerging technology providers to meet the future needs of customers and navigate the rapidly changing landscape of financial technology. It’s … Read more

Unprecedented Support for Community Banks: Bankers Helping Bankers

The Independent Bankers Association of Texas (IBAT) and FedFis, a fintech firm specializing in data transformation for financial institutions, have announced Bankers Helping Bankers, a new bankers-only platform to help community banks survive and thrive. Texas-based FedFis brings more than 40 years of building data in the banking industry, information that can benefit every community … Read more

Will Varo Bank be the Pin that Pops the Fintech Valuation Bubble?

Every banker has read the sensational headlines of massive funding rounds at almost unfathomable valuations for almost any company with a fintech moniker. They also know the narrative; bankers are greedy and dumb, credit unions are slow and can’t innovate, and morally superior (here again) fintechs are here to disrupt the trillion-dollar financial services industry, … Read more

Fintech Company ENACOMM Taps Arakelian as Chief Product Officer

Enterprise-level technology solutions expert Kenneth Arakelian has been tapped by Tulsa, Oklahoma-based ENACOMM to spearhead the advancement of the company’s suite of fintech products and services as senior vice president/chief product officer. He will scale the company’s intelligent interactive voice response system for deployment by major banks with numerous branches. He’ll also expand ENACOMM’s virtual personal … Read more

Community Banking: Survival Above All Else

Take a stroll back in time with me. It was a simpler time. It was an easier time. It was February. In the February 24, 2020, edition of Bankers Digest, I declared that the era of “banking as a service” had arrived. As proof, I pointed to the partnerships between Goldman Sachs and Apple to … Read more