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Capital One, Discover shareholders approve $35.3B acquisition
The proposed $35.3 billion blockbuster acquisition of Discover Financial Services by Capital One Financial has been approved by each company’s shareholders, the credit card giants announced Tuesday. Stockholders representing 85.1% of the total number of outstanding shares of Capital One common stock were in favor of the ac[...]
$1.6B Atlantic Union purchase of Sandy Spring Bank clears main hurdles
The parent companies of Atlantic Union Bank and Sandy Spring Bank have cleared the last major hurdles to the Richmond bank’s $1.6 billion all-stock purchase of Sandy Spring, headquartered in Maryland. The shareholders of Atlantic Union Bankshares and stockholders of Sandy Spring Bancorp approved the merger, first announced in [...]
Banks, credit unions revisit in-person banking strategies
A former Village Bank branch in Chesterfield County is now a Dunkin’ doughnuts and coffee shop, complete with a drive-thru. Roanoke’s former First National Bank building has found new life as a 54-room boutique hotel. In Hampton, the former Bank of Hampton Roads building is a doggy day care. It’s true that bank customers d[...]
Capital One, Discover clear hurdles for $35.3B megadeal
Announced in February, McLean-based Capital One Financial’s proposed $35.3 billion acquisition of Discover Financial Services is moving forward, with stockholders’ votes scheduled early next year, the credit card giants announced this week. Capital One also announced Thursday it received approval from the Office of t[...]
A new era
The days of decades-high interest rates are over, as the Federal Reserve is ushering in a new era for financial markets — and, in turn, shaking up some of the advice money managers are offering their clients. During one of its regularly scheduled meetings in September, the central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee lowered[...]
VACUL to merge with regional credit union group Jan. 1
Members of the Virginia Credit Union League and the League of Southeastern Credit Unions & Affiliates voted Thursday to approve the Virginia league’s consolidation with the regional organization. The merger will be in effect Jan. 1, 2025, the two organizations announced Friday. “Thanks to the support of the membershi[...]
Navy Federal ordered to refund customers $80M, pay $15M civil penalty
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is ordering Navy Federal Credit Union to refund more than $80 million to customers and pay a $15 million civil penalty for allegedly charging illegal overdraft fees. CFPB announced the actions against the nation’s largest credit union on Thursday. CFPB alleges that from 2017 to 2022, Vi[...]
John C. Asbury tapped to lead American Bankers Association
The American Bankers Association has elected John C. Asbury, president and CEO of Richmond-based Atlantic Union Bankshares, as the organization’s chair for 2024-25. “Through his bold leadership and dedicated service to our industry, John has proven that he is just the right person to step into this critically important rol[...]
Fed’s Fifth District economy grows modestly
Economic activity in the Federal Reserve’s Fifth District (a multistate region including Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Maryland) grew modestly from early September, according to the latest edition of the Fed’s Beige Book, released Wednesday. Published eight times per year, the Beige Book is base[...]
SEC, Hampton managing partner of BFM Fund settle charges
The Securities and Exchange Commission settled charges in early October against a Hampton-based managing partner of The BFM Fund and a limited liability company for allegedly breaching their fiduciary duties and misleading investors. Himalaya Rao-Potlapally of Hampton is a managing partner of Portland, Oregon-based BFM Fund, a s[...]
Atlantic Union to buy Maryland’s Sandy Spring Bank for $1.6B
Atlantic Union Bank is expanding further into Northern Virginia and Maryland with the $1.6 billion purchase of Maryland’s Sandy Spring Bank, an acquisition announced Monday. The two banks’ parent companies, Atlantic Union Bankshares and Sandy Spring Bancorp, have entered into a merger agreement that would create a co[...]
On the ledger
This story has been updated since publication. With its 2023 purchase of Farmers Bankshares for $53 million, Suffolk’s TowneBank secured its leadership of the Hampton Roads banking market with a nearly 28% share. Truist Bank remains in second place at 23.72%, and the rest of the top five banks in the market are Wells Fargo, [&[...]
