Single featured article at top of home page.
After 30 years as CEO of Frandsen Financial Corp., Rich Hoban refocused his role to grow the company through acquisition. When the Arden Hills, Minn.-based holding company closed on its acquisition of Peoples Bank Midwest, Hayward, Wis., Frandsen leaped across the $2 billion-total-assets threshold. Here Hoban reflects on the company’s acquisition strategy. [Continue]
Jessica Carroll credits her mother for getting her into banking. Carroll, the first female CEO at the century-old Charleston, Ind.-based New Washington State Bank, was a child when her mom worked there as a teller. When Carroll was in college, her mom got her into the bank on a part-time basis. [Continue]
In the latest of its moves beefing up its presence in the Milwaukee market, Chicago-based First Midwest Bancorp is buying Park Bank for $195 million. Founded in 1915, Park Bank is one of the largest independent commercial banks in Milwaukee with approximately $1 billion in assets, $815 million in deposits, of which approximately 85 percent are core deposits, and $700 million in loans. [Continue]
During its first quarter earnings call, executives from Farmer Mac told investors that the financing environment in 2019 has been stable and has exceeded expectations despite trouble in many parts of the ag sector. [Continue]
Just like Chicken Little, the bond market was recently hit on the head with an acorn, and the yield curve screamed “recession.” The yield curve temporarily inverted, and the three-month Treasury yield was higher than the 10-year yield. This created a bit of hysteria, because an inverted yield curve has predicted the last seven recessions since 1970 with only one head fake. [Continue]
There’s a proverb that goes: A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. I connect this idea to community banking, where each day, bankers make investments in the form of loans, which is really about planting the seeds (and seedlings) for economic growth. [Continue]
The sign above the door clearly communicates you are about to enter a bank, yet the printing on the front door to Bremer Bank’s southwest Minneapolis branch reads, “no cash on premises.” Cue the cognitive dissonance. [Continue]
For much of the past five years, this housing boom has closely resembled that of the last housing boom. There is strong buying activity amid rising prices with pockets of bidding wars breaking out in some markets. The economy is on solid footing; unemployment rates are low. What could go wrong? [Continue]
After a call from banking regulators, national, regional and community banks responded with various offers to help cover the gap until the 800,000 federal employees return to work. Assistance includes fee waivers, loan modifications, payment deadline extensions, payroll advances, low-rate and zero-rate loans as well as other accommodations. [Continue]