Daniels Joins VeraBank’s Commercial Banking Team in Austin

Henderson-based VeraBank has hired Scott Daniels to serve on its commercial banking team in downtown Austin. He will partner with local businesses to provide customized financing solutions. He has more than 15 years of experience in commercial lending, portfolio management, structured financing, investment advising, asset management and financial planning. Before joining VeraBank, Daniels was senior … Read more

Origin Bank Hires Frisco-based Imes as Chief Audit Executive

Choudrant, Louisiana-based Origin Bank has hired Sara Imes to serve as chief audit executive. She will develop and implement a risk-based audit plan while overseeing the planning, design, implementation, communication and delivery of audit initiatives across the organization. In addition, she will partner with all levels of management and cross-functional teams to strengthen internal controls … Read more

SouthStar Bank Welcomes Bourland as Senior Vice President of Lending in Bee Cave

Steven Bourland has joined Moulton-based SouthStar Bank’s Bee Cave team as a senior vice president of lending. He has more than three decades of experience in the finance industry and has expertise across several areas of lending, with an emphasis on commercial loans and commercial real estate loans. Bourland previously served as senior vice president … Read more

Forsythe Joins Ozona Bank as President

Ozona Bank has announced a leadership transition as Kelly Barclay assumes the role of chief executive officer to focus on steering the bank’s long-term vision and growth strategy. Joining the bank as its new president is Tommy Forsythe, a seasoned leader in community banking with more than 30 years of industry experience. He will also serve … Read more

Vorhees Named Treasurer and Executive Vice President at First Financial Bank

The board of directors of Abilene-based First Financial Bank has announced the election of Jeff Vorhees to serve as executive vice president and treasurer. Vorhees most recently served as director of corporate treasury at McKinney-based Independent Financial, a $19 billion public bank. Prior to that, he held positions in asset liability management consulting, investment banking … Read more

SouthState Bank Enters Texas with Independent Financial Merger

On January 2, Winter Haven, Florida-based SouthState Corp. announced the closing of its acquisition of Independent Bank Group Inc. through the merger of McKinney-based Independent Financial with and into SouthState. Immediately after the January 1 merger, Independent Financial’s subsidiary bank, Independent Bank, merged with and into SouthState Bank NA. As a result of these transactions, … Read more

December 8–14, 2024

Mergers and Acquisitions The OCC reports that it has approved an application by SouthState Bank NA, based in Winter Haven, Florida, to acquire Independent Bank, dba Independent Financial, based in McKinney. The TDB reports that it has approved an application by Powell State Bank, based in Powell, to be acquired by Producer Acquisition Corp. The … Read more

FHLB Dallas and Eight Member Financial Institutions Award $283K to Dallas/Fort Worth Nonprofits

Representatives from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) and eight of its members awarded $283,000 in grants to eight nonprofit organizations in Dallas and Fort Worth. The awards were part of more than $1.2 million awarded to community groups through the Partnership Grant Program (PGP) and were celebrated during an event on … Read more

IBAT Leadership Division Announces 2024–25 Board of Directors

The conclusion of the Independent Bankers Association of Texas’ (IBAT) 39th Annual Connecting Leaders Conference, held June 26–29 in San Antonio, marks the beginning of a new year for the IBAT Leadership Division, and with that comes the election of a new board of directors. Bankers Digest recently reported on the new Leadership Division executive … Read more

Florida-based SouthState Corp. to Acquire McKinney-based Independent Bank Group

On May 20, SouthState Corp., the parent company of Winter Haven, Florida-based SouthState Bank NA, and Independent Bank Group Inc., the parent company of McKinney-based Independent Bank (dba Independent Financial), jointly announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which SouthState will acquire Independent Bank Group in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately … Read more