West Des Moines-based West Bank held a June 22 ground-breaking ceremony to mark the start of construction on a new corporate headquarters building within the city. During the ceremony, local officials spoke including West Des Moines City Councilor Greg Hudson, West Bank Building Construction Administrator Doug Gulling, Jeff Henning, CEO of the general contracting firm … Read more
Council Bluffs, Iowa-based TS Bank named Austin Diehm vice president of business banking. Diehm, who has 16 years in banking, graduated from Grace University, Omaha, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in business leadership. He graduated from three programs with the Iowa Bankers Association Commercial Lending School and recently completed his first year of the … Read more
Horicon, Wis.-based Horicon Bank and Grafton, Wis.-based Cornerstone Community Bank are merging to create a $1.5 billion financial institution. Frederick Schwertfeger, CEO of the $1.2 billion Horicon Bank, said the merger benefits both Cornerstone customers and the bank’s local communities. “We are blessed to find such a complementary partner,” he said of Cornerstone Community Bank. … Read more
Evansville, Ind.-based Fidelity Federal Bancorp is acquiring the stock of Kirksville, Mo.-based Rockhold Bancorp. Under the deal announced July 7, Rockhold’s subsidiary, Bank of Kirksville, will merge into Fidelity and its subsidiary, the $3.3 billion, Evansville, Ind.-based United Fidelity Bank. The combined bank will have approximately $4.6 billion in assets. The transaction is expected to … Read more
Iowa-based Availa Bank hired Cody Wragge as vice president loan officer at its downtown Council Bluffs branch. Wragge has more than eight years of banking experience in Nebraska. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice with a minor in business administration from Wayne State College, Nebraska. “We are excited to welcome Cody … Read more
Illinois-based First National Bank of Waterloo will open a new banking center in O’Fallon on July 11. The two-story building will include a commercial real estate business and a title company. “We’re excited about the new center and being a part of the retail district,” said First National Bank President and CEO Rick Parks. “Customer … Read more
Denver, Colo.-based Sunflower Bank is expanding its community affairs office as the bank grows following its recent merger with Pioneer Bank, Austin. [Continue]
David Bush will retire from the boards of directors of Sparta, Mich.-based ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc., and ChoiceOne Bank, effective July 25. Bruce John Essex Jr. was appointed to the ChoiceOne board, effective upon Bush’s retirement. An optometrist, Bush retired from the profession in 2002. He has Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Optometry degrees … Read more
Winona, Minn.-based Merchants Bank named Catherine “Cat” Breet senior vice president/chief human resources officer. Breet succeeds Beth Ede, who retired on July 1. Breet has more than 20 years of experience in HR, including the last 16 running her career guidance and HR consulting company, ARBEZ. Breet received a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology … Read more
Green Bay, Wis.-based Associated Bank is expanding its equipment finance team by hiring staff in Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota. The hires include Michael Gaona in Milwaukee as vice president; and Rich Pondel, Alex Williams, Alex Steinhaus and Thomas Wolf as senior vice presidents. Associated Bank promoted Jennifer VanHulle from a senior operations technician to senior … Read more