Independent Bank, Grand Rapids, Mich., and Traverse City State Bank, Traverse City, Mich., are combining. The transaction is anticipated to close in the first half of the year. After the closing, Traverse City State Bank will operate as Independent Bank and maintain all five of its branches. One member of Traverse City’s board of directors will join Independent’s upon completion of the transaction. [Continue]
Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, stepped down Nov. 24. While President Trump has the right to name Cordray’s permanent replacement, an argument broke out over who would be the bureau’s interim director. [Continue]
Anything that is alive has a “beat,” and we are dedicated to covering that beat in banking. We have formally adopted the BankBeat name as an update on the NorthWestern Financial Review name for our online delivery. Later this year, this change will be reflected in our print magazine. We believe BankBeat is a better moniker for a multi-modal news organization, which not only reviews the latest banking industry developments, but analyzes them and brings intelligent information to the industry discussion table, something we’ve done under the NorthWestern Financial Review name since 1988. [Continue]
An S&P Global Market Intelligence report indicated while the rate of digital lending growth may begin to slow in the next few years, albeit still growing overall, banks need to emphasize their digital and mobile capabilities more than ever. Specifically, mobile apps have moved from a luxurious perk to an absolute necessity for banks as demanded by their customers. [Continue]
The Indiana Bankers Association has been honored with the 2017 Impactful Technology award of excellence from the Indiana Society of Association Executives. The award was in recognition of the multipurpose IBA App, which provides anytime/anywhere access to IBA events, staff listings, Hoosier Banker Digital and other IBA opportunities. [Continue]
Minnesota Bank & Trust, Edina, Minn., a subsidiary of Heartland Financial USA, Inc., Dubuque, Iowa, and Signature Bank, Minnetonka, Minn., have agreed to merge. Signature Bank will be blended into Minnesota Bank & Trust’s operations and brand. The combined bank will create a $600 million Heartland subsidiary. [Continue]
Midcareer bankers have a new and easy way to build their industry knowledge and professional network: BankBeatGroups launches this month, making monthly webinars and periodic live events available to people in the banking industry looking to take their career to the next level.
BankBeatGroups will offer access to subject-matter experts across the spectrum of banking topics. Monthly webinars will be conducted over the lunch hour on the third Thursday of the month, beginning Jan. 18. The first webinar features KC Mathews, UMB Bank executive vice president and chief investment officer. He will offer an overview of the economy. The presentation will last about 20 minutes, with additional time available for dialogue. [Continue]
Community Development Bank, FSB, of Ogema, Minn., has completed its purchase of the First American Bank, N.A., branch in St. Michael, Minn. The deal closed on Oct. 20. First American, based in Hudson, Wis., acquired Great Northern Bank in St. Michael in 2014 and converted it into a branch. Great Northern was a 1999 de novo. First American Bank was formed in 2007. [Continue]
In 1918, James Kewley, Wilbur Kerns and Henry Knoche organized the Onarga State Bank, Onarga, Ill. In 1983, the bank changed its name to Federated Bank of Onarga, and in 2018 the bank will be one of nine in the Upper Midwest to commemorate a centennial anniversary. [Continue]
Information from a newly launched assessment tool shows mortgage delinquency rates have dropped to levels not seen since before the recession, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said.
According to the CFPB’s Mortgage Performance Trends tool, the national rate of seriously delinquent mortgages peaked at 4.9 percent in 2010. As of March 2017, the rate had fallen to 1.1 percent, the lowest level since 2008.
That recovery extends to the recession’s hardest hit states. [Continue]