Jim Dobbs

Michigan State University Federal Credit Union, seeking to add $300 million of assets in Illinois, has agreed to purchase McHenry Savings Bank.

Followers of Islam cannot pay interest on loans. Androscoggin Bank figured out a way to structure a new product that addresses that challenge and paves a path to more homeownership.

The plan calls for the formation of Orca Bank in Bellingham, Washington. It would become a subsidiary of Savi, whose CEO would assume the same role at the bank.

Two-thirds of business executives expect to pursue merger-and-acquisition deals over the next 12 months, according to a new EY survey. That's good news for larger banks with M&A advisory operations.

Community bankers anticipate that interest rates could soon level off and the broader economy may avert a downturn as a result. If that forecast proves true, lenders could minimize credit losses and enjoy stronger loan demand than they had expected earlier in the year.

The $1.6 billion-asset company said in a press release Wednesday that its directors "voted to terminate" Kevin Lycklama's employment. Dan Cox, chief credit officer, was named as acting president and CEO.

The nearly $81 million plan to buy Community Financial Group in Spokane, Washington, would mark the 13th acquisition in the past decade for Glacier. The Montana-based bank has more than tripled in size during that time.

Bankers say regulatory burden, rising costs and intensifying competition will reignite a drive for scale and spur dealmaking provided interest rates level off and the economic outlook improves.

The Vancouver, Washington, company disclosed in a regulatory filing that Kevin Lycklama was under investigation. It elaborated only to say that the matter did not involve the bank's financial condition.

Kansas Banking Commissioner David Herndon told American Banker that his agency declared Heartland Tri-State Bank insolvent because of a "very sudden" event that crippled the bank financially.