Fargo, N.D.-based Gate City Bank will open a branch this summer in the northwest Twin Cities suburb of Elk River. The branch, which will share a building with the grocery store chain Coborn’s, is the $3.2 billion bank’s 44th branch in approximately two-dozen communities in North Dakota and Minnesota. The branch’s opening comes on the … Read more

Seymour, Ind.-based JCBank recently acquired finance and insurance firm Vision Financial Group, Inc.  Also based in Seymour, Vision offers securities through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. The firm’s three employees, including financial adviser and Practice Owner Tina Tracy, registered sales assistant Beth Veatch and administrative assistant Pam Eakins joined the JCB Investment Services team. The … Read more

Sixty percent of Midwest supply chain managers expect a recession will strike this year as January’s business conditions sentiment reached its lowest mark for the start of the year since 2008, according to Creighton University’s Mid-American Economy report.  The index for business conditions, which remained at 47, is at its lowest reading for January since … Read more

Toronto-based BMO Financial Bank will retire the “Harris” name for its Chicago-based U.S. operations later this year, after the bank closed on its acquisition of San Francisco-based Bank of the West on Feb. 1.  BMO’s U.S. CEO Dave Casper told Crain’s Chicago Business that the change reflects the bank’s expansion. The $16 billion acquisition, which … Read more

Houston-based LevelField Financial will acquire Illinois-based Burling Bank later this year. According to a press release, the acquisition will enable LevelField to be the first full-service, FDIC-insured bank to offer both traditional banking and digital asset services. The company plans to expand those offerings nationwide while incorporating Burling Bank’s core business activities.  “The long-term potential … Read more

The House of Representatives passed a bill last week that eases the annual meeting requirements for credit unions.    The Credit Union Board Modernization Act, which passed via a voice vote without a formal tally, would reduce the minimum number of meetings from 12 to six. The bill, which was sent to the Senate, includes exceptions … Read more

Fishers, Ind.-based First Internet Bancorp is exiting the consumer mortgage business this quarter as market conditions continue to weaken.  The decision includes both the $4.2 billion bank’s digital, direct-to-consumer nationwide mortgage platform that originates residential loans for sale in the secondary market and its consumer mortgage and construction-to-permanent business.  “The combination of housing prices, housing … Read more

The Federal Reserve outlined last week how it would evaluate requests from state-member, non-FDIC-insured banks looking to engage in new banking activities such as serving the crypto-asset market. “Today’s action would not prohibit a state-member bank, or prospective applicant, from providing safekeeping services, in a custodial capacity, for crypto-assets if conducted in a safe and … Read more

Credit conditions will soften over the next six months as the economy weakens and the Federal Reserve continues to rein in inflation by raising interest rates, according to the American Bankers Association’s latest Credit Conditions Index. The headline credit index slightly increased but remained near its lowest point since the start of the pandemic at … Read more