Jim Dobbs

Bank of America expects 3% GDP growth this year and a 2% improvement next year, even in the face of rising rates. Consumers’ continued willingness to spend and borrow, which was evident in the bank’s first-quarter results, is a key reason for that outlook.

U.S. Bancorp and Wells Fargo both reported robust business loan volumes during the first quarter, while other large lenders reported smaller gains. Inflation is fueling more spending on technology, and companies are catching up on capital expenditures that they deferred earlier in the pandemic, according to bank executives.

As inflation increases, more companies are shifting to remote and hybrid work to get their costs under control. Landlords could face rising vacancies and tumbling revenue, leaving them behind on loan payments.

Increased interest income would boost banks’ lending profitability, but inflation and mounting expenses, along with the specter of potential recession, loom large.

VyStar Credit Union and Heritage Southeast Bank postponed to June 30 the deadline to close their merger. The $196 million deal, announced a year ago, was originally slated to close by December 2021.

The $168 million deal would mark the third acquisition of 2022 for Seacoast and continue a years-long effort to bulk up via M&A.

The acquisitive Massachusetts company said it would pay $146.5 million to acquire Randolph and its $800 million-asset subsidiary, Envision Bank.

The pace of deal activity in 2022 is far lighter than it was a year earlier. "Going forward as an industry, we're going to be more selective because of the elongated approval process,” said Jim Ryan III, CEO of Old National Bancorp. Additionally, rising interest rates have led sellers to demand bigger payouts.

The Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, institution uses a fleet of traveling branches to reach far-flung customers who largely eschew modern technology.

The two similarly named companies had planned to merge. At issue is whether Amalgamated Financial in the Big Apple violated terms of that agreement when it called off the deal in February.