Both of Wilmington’s public companies have – not surprisingly – seen their stocks tumble in recent weeks. PPD re-emerged as a public company on Feb. 6 of this year. Its shares sold for $27 and quickly climbed to more than $32, but amid this week’s market turmoil, they dropped to $12. It closed on Friday at $14.52. Live Oak Bancshares went publ ...

Live Oak Bank’s plans for 2020 include introducing new deposit products, keeping small business lending stable and enhancing its technology. That’s according to remarks made by Huntley Garriott, the bank’s president, about Live Oak’s core activities during the bank’s earnings call in January. “In 2020, we will continue on the same cou ...

Wilmington insurance firm Innovative Financial Group announced Tuesday that it has completed a partnership agreement with Elite Insurance Group. Elite Insurance, based in Reidsville, Georgia, is a distributor of health insurance products and specializes in the senior market. As part of this specialty, the news release stated, EIG agents work with older adult clients to ...

Canapi Ventures, co-led by Live Oak Bancshares’ CEO James “Chip” Mahan, announced it has participated in a $50 million equity financing round by San Francisco-based Nova Credit. Although Canapi was described in an announcement by Nova Credit as a “major participant” in the capital raise, the amount of Canapi’s investment was not discl ...

Rob Cooley, owner of Apple Annie’s Bake Shop, wishes he could help his employees save for retirement by matching – up to a certain point – their contributions to a retirement account.   “We’ve been talking about something like this at Apple Annie’s for years,” Cooley said, but the barrier has been being able to afford it as ...

A mortgage company that moved its headquarters to Wilmington is already heading to a larger office, according to a news release Thursday. SeaTrust Mortgage Co., a subsidiary of Community First Bank, is relocating from 1508 Military Cutoff Road, Suite 203, to 1001 Military Cutoff Road, Suite 350, the release stated.  The new office space is about 5,000 ...

A venture capital firm co-founded in February 2018 by Live Oak Bancshares chairman and CEO James “Chip” Mahan announced Wednesday it has received major investor commitments. Canapi Ventures, which invests in early- to growth-stage financial technology companies, has been promised $545 million from a “robust” institutional investor base, according ...

Live Oak Bank is putting down roots in a second location.   While the Wilmington-based bank is adhering to its no-branches business model, earlier this month it hosted a grand opening for its satellite office on the N.C. State University Centennial Campus in Raleigh (at left). The new location houses Live Oak Labs, Live Oak’s technology unit, as well as some c ...

The Wilmington market continued to show steady growth throughout 2019, both in terms of deposits and local banking presence.   Banks in all three of the market’s counties added deposits between fiscal years ending June 30, 2018, and June 30, 2019, according to the FDIC. The 2019 report showed Brunswick County banks’ deposits totaling about $2.3 billion, ...

This year, Wilmington-based nCino raised $80 million, expanded to Japan and announced the launch of nCino IQ, which expands its Banking Operating System with artificial intelligence and machine learning.   nCino and Live Oak Bank, from which nCino spun out, have continued to grow their presence in the financial technology sector.   In October, the banking sof ...