AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
A historic Black-owned bank in Durham plans to take a new name as it merges with another majority minority-run financial institution.
Read more Shrimp from 22 NC restaurants were tested. Only half served ‘wild-caught’
M&F Bank announced Wednesday it will become part of South Carolina’s Optus Bank in a deal that is expected to pay M&F shareholders more than $105 million. M&F CEO James Sills III will become CEO of the new combined entity.
The companies said their agreement will become official by the end of this year, subject to regulatory approval. M&F’s stock rose 60% on Wednesday.
“We share a common mission, aligned values, and a steadfast commitment to our customers and communities,” Sills said in a public statement.
Established in 1907, M&F Bank (named Mechanics and Farmers Bank until 2015) is the second-oldest Black-owned bank in the country. It was a fixture of downtown Durham’s Black Wall Street neighborhood in the early 20th century.
The bank recorded its first annual net loss in 2016 but has raised its profits and asset holdings over the last decade. Triangle companies like Pendo and Global Data Consortium deposited millions following the murder of George Floyd in 2020 to support the bank’s mission to reduce the racial wealth gap. And in 2024, M&F partnered with nCino, a bank software company in Wilmington, to streamline its underwriting process.
Today, M&F has seven branches across North Carolina, including two each in Raleigh and Durham, as well as one each in Charlotte, Winston-Salem and Greensboro. It ended March with assets totaling nearly $490 million, making it the 20th-largest state-chartered bank in North Carolina.
M&F branches will retain their current name for two years before operating as Optus.
Originally named Victory Savings Bank, Optus was founded in 1921 and was South Carolina’s first Black-owned bank.
Read more NC State signs men’s soccer talent that developed with Spain’s World Cup winners
M&F and Optus Bank are both Minority Depository Institutions — a designation the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. gives to banks and credit unions where minority individuals own at least 51% of voting stock or where minorities hold a majority of the board seats and the institution primarily serves minority communities. MDIs are eligible for specific training and support programs from the federal government.
M&F and Optus are also Community Development Financial Institutions that focus on lower-income and underserved communities. Last year, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget withheld grant money from CDFIs.
“Past awards may have made race a determinant of access to loan programs,” OMB noted in the White House’s 2026 discretionary budget proposals.
In an interview last summer with The News & Observer, Sills addressed this disruption. “We’re still going to do what we’ve been doing for 118 years, but (CDFI) does help us continue to do the lending to serve the communities that we serve.”
In an email Thursday to The N&O, Sills said M&F has not received any CDFI funds in 2026.
Beyond federal funding, Sills listed larger bank competition, employee retention, and technology adaptation as three challenges his smaller bank faced. He also discussed what financial institutions like M&F excel at.
“When somebody is turned down for a loan, we tell them why they were turned down for the loan and how they can improve upon their financial situation and come back to us in 12 months, if you do these things,” he said. “Community banks do that really well.”
Read more These 2 NC universities rank among the best in the US for value
This story was originally published July 23, 2026 at 9:41 AM.