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 January reading since the … Read more

Toronto-based BMO Financial Bank will retire the “Harris Bank” name later this year for its Chicago-based U.S. operations following the acquisition of San Francisco-based Bank of the West.  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 closed Feb. 1, increased BMO’s size … Read more

Houston-based LevelField Financial will acquire Illinois-based Burling Bank later this year. According to a press release, LevelField plans to expand its traditional banking and digital asset services nationwide while incorporating Chicago-based Burling Bank’s core business activities.  “The long-term potential strategic value of digital asset technology to the banking industry far exceeds the provision of products … 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 recently outlined that state-member, non-FDIC-insured banks looking to engage in novel banking activities, including work with the crypto industry, will face the same requirements as insured banks. “This principle of equal treatment helps to level the competitive playing field among banks with different charters and different federal supervisors, and to mitigate the … 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

Madison, Wis.-based Park Bank will soon open a new branch in nearby Cross Plains.   Construction on the branch, which will be at 2407 Brewery Road, is expected to begin this spring. The opening is slated for this fall.  Last fall, the bank added three associates to its Middleton branch who have a combined more than … Read more

Bank executives expect a recession will strike this year but disagree on the timing of the looming downturn, according to an IntraFi survey of bank CEOs, CFOs, presidents and chief executive officers from nearly 450 U.S. banks.  According to the fourth quarter report, 36 percent expect the recession to begin in the second half of … Read more