Corporate Banking

Jacksonville and Seattle – September 10, 2026 -- EverBank Financial Corp and WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ: WAFD) have entered into a definitive merger agreement valuing the combination at $3.9 billion, creating a nationwide bank with more than 250 financial centers.

WaFd will absorb EverBank but adopt its name and new ticker EVBK

Under the deal structure, EverBank Financial Corp will merge into WaFd, Inc., with WaFd continuing as the surviving holding company. Despite being the legal survivor, WaFd will rename itself EverBank Financial Corp and begin trading on Nasdaq under the symbol EVBK once the transaction closes. EverBank has been designated the accounting acquirer, and its shareholders will receive WaFd common stock in exchange for their shares.

San Francisco – September 10, 2026 -- Hagens Berman has filed a securities fraud class action against HDFC Bank Limited (NYSE: HDB), alleging the lender concealed roughly Rs 45 crore (about $4.7 million) in disguised payments to a state-owned firm to secure large deposits.

Lawsuit targets CEO and CFO over alleged deposit-inducement scheme

The complaint names Chief Executive Officer Sashidhar Jagdishan and Chief Financial Officer Srinivasan Vaidyanathan, claiming HDFC routed funds through its marketing department, disguised as sponsorship for a road safety campaign, to the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC). The scheme allegedly delivered MSRDC a 6.01% interest rate on deposits, a 2.51% markup over standard retail savings rates, in violation of Reserve Bank of India Master Directions and HDFC's own anti-bribery policies.

Bochum – – September 10, 2026 -- GLS Bank board member Aysel Osmanoglu has issued a public statement following an unexpectedly strong result for the far-right AfD in Saxony-Anhalt's state election, warning that the outcome puts fundamental societal achievements and democracy itself at risk.

GLS Bank says an AfD-led state government would pressure its civil-society client base

Osmanoglu, who sits on the board of the Bochum-based socio-ecological GLS Gemeinschaftsbank, said the bank counts many organizations from civil society among its customers and that an AfD-led regional administration would place these clients under direct pressure.

Executive links open, diverse society to a resilient economic future

"The free and diverse society is the foundation for a good life and a future-proof economy," Osmanoglu said, arguing that democratic values and economic viability are directly connected rather than separate policy tracks.