Private equity firm acquires InBank stock
Brush Creek Partners, Denver, Colo., has acquired 220,000 shares of InBankshares, Corp., and InBank’s common voting stock, for a total investment of $1.8 million. [Continue]
Writer: Anna Cushing
Huntington to acquire TCF
Huntington Bancshares, Columbus, Ohio, has agreed to acquire TCF Financial, Detroit, in a deal with a market value of about $22 billion. In a $6 billion all-stock merger, the combined companies will be among the top 10 U.S. regional banks with dual headquarters in Detroit and Columbus. The bank will operate under the Huntington name. [Continue]
Ag lenders concerned about credit quality
Credit quality and the deterioration of agricultural loans remain top concerns for ag lenders as the farm economy works through its continuing downturn, according to a recent report. [Continue]
Minnesota non-profit redirects deposits to help community banks
Medica, the largest non-profit health insurer in Minnesota, has traditionally had most of its operations accounts in larger banks. After visiting with a neighborhood bank in Edina, Minn., however, John Naylor, the president of Medica, wondered whether the company’s cash would benefit the community more if it was placed in a community bank. [Continue]
Indiana banker values words, community
Almost every Friday morning for the past 10 years, Kathy Schoettlin’s voice is heard on the local radio. Fueled by fruit and coffee and likely without much sleep, she presents $100 to a local charity in exchange for airtime. Born at the border of Kentucky, she speaks with a slight southern twang, and with careful consideration. Choosing her words, she said, is as important a task as caring for her community. [Continue]
Banks tighten lending standards, weigh forbearance considerations
The Federal Reserve Board’s October 2020 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices stayed relatively consistent with the previous quarter. [Continue]
Colorado banker gets the job done
Rebecca Diaz is not a perfectionist. “There’s this expression: GETMO. Good enough to move on,” Diaz explained. “Sometimes you need that philosophy in your life.” Diaz is acutely aware of women’s tendency to abstain from a job application because every prerequisite wasn’t met to a tee. But with experience and working with women along the way, she learned how to run with the big dogs, though her golf skills are still lacking. [Continue]
Michigan banker trail-blazes with transparency
When Michigan legalized recreational cannabis, Edith Farrell, the Bank Secrecy Act officer at Union Bank, Lake Odessa, was in staunch opposition. Well-versed in compliance, Farrell was content to analyze customer data and loan activity. She never expected she’d be the voice advocating for Union Bank to be one of the first in the state to bank the marijuana industry. [Continue]
Fed sets a table for bankers looking for CRA funding opportunities
Partnerships with community organizations are critical for banks to meet their CRA responsibilities. Working on their own, banks can spend days just vetting organizations for CRA-eligible funds, and community groups often struggle to get banks to bite. Through a program called Investment Connection, eight Federal Reserve Banks are taking a “shark tank,” or speed-dating approach to the set-up, assembling a neighborhood of options. [Continue]
Fintechs, banks work to find common ground on managing risk
A community bank’s identity is intrinsic to its ability to connect with its customers, and meet them where they’re at. This looks different behind a screen and six feet apart. As a result, bankers are learning to partner with fintechs that have a common culture, and grapple with the oxymoronic relationship between fintech innovation and risk-averse banking. [Continue]