ATLANTA –Troutman Pepper Locke advised Georgia Banking Company, Inc. (GBC), a community-focused financial institution headquartered in Atlanta, and parent company of Georgia Banking Company, in its merger with Tandem Bancorp, Inc., the parent company of Tandem Bank, and in the related merger of their respective banking subsidiaries. For more information, see the press release.
James Stevens, partner and co-leader of Troutman Pepper Locke’s Financial Services Industry Group, was quoted in a recent S&P Global Market Intelligence article by Rica Dela Cruz, Lauren Seay, and Joe Mantone, “CAMELS overhaul could serve as a catalyst for US bank M&A.” The article discusses the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council’s proposed revisions to the CAMELS rating system, which would shift regulatory emphasis toward an institution’s financial condition and risk profile and reduce the weight historically given to the “Management” component. Commenting on the M&A implications, James noted that lower CAMELS ratings on either the buy or sell side can hold back deals and other growth initiatives, and that raising ratings under a more targeted framework “could encourage M&A” as well as branching and other expansion efforts.
ATLANTA – Troutman Pepper Locke represented TAG Bancshares, Inc. (TAG), holding company for Citizens Bank & Trust, Inc., in its acquisition by CBS Banc-Corp. (CBS), holding company for CB&S Bank, Inc. The transaction closed on March 31.
ATLANTA – Troutman Pepper Locke represented Repay Holdings Corporation (REPAY), a leading provider of integrated payment processing solutions, in a definitive agreement to acquire Kubra Data Transfer Ltd. (KUBRA) for approximately $372 million. The acquisition will be financed with a combination of cash on hand and debt financing. For more information, see the press release.
James Stevens, partner and co-leader of Troutman Pepper Locke’s Financial Services Industry Group, was quoted in a recent S&P Global Market Intelligence article by Zoe Sagalow and Lauren Seay, “Regulators Rarely Give Credit Unions Full-Weighting in Bank M&A Reviews.” The article examines how federal bank regulators treat credit unions in competitive analyses for bank mergers, including when and how those institutions are counted as “significant competitors” and how their deposits are weighted relative to banks and thrifts.
James Stevens, partner and co-leader of Troutman Pepper Locke’s Financial Services Industry Group, was quoted in Zoe Sagalow’s recent article, “Lawmakers look to codify US bank regulators’ ambitious agenda.”
James Stevens, co-leader of Troutman Pepper Locke’s Financial Services Industry Group, was quoted in the October 21, 2025 Payments Dive article, “Fiserv, Block Turn to Crypto.”
James Stevens, co-leader of Troutman Pepper Locke’s Financial Services Industry Group, was quoted in the October 13, 2025 S&P Global Market Intelligence article, “US Banks’ Brokered Deposit Levels Would Drop Under Pending House Bills.”
Following the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation brought against the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in 2024,[1] on February 5, 2025, the FDIC released hundreds of pages of documents related to its supervision of banks that engaged in, or sought to engage in, crypto-related activities during the last administration. Acting Chairman Hill’s decision to release these documents reflected “a commitment to enhance transparency, beyond what is required by the [FOIA], while also attempting to fulfill the spirit of the FOIA request.”[2]
Guest contributors: Ashley Harris, Thomas Scott, and Isabelle Corbett Sterling, BakerHostetler
This is the final article in our three-part series focused on a key question: as bank-fintech partnerships continue to play a vital role in driving financial services, how does the industry make this system safer and better?
In this final part of our series, we propose a DLT-based account ledgering model designed to prevent failures like Synapse while offering broader benefits. Previously, we examined Synapse’s collapse, the misplaced trust in its ledgers, and potential regulatory responses,[1] including concerns about the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) proposed recordkeeping rule (Records NPR).[2]