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.

Banking executives and analysts worry that the Federal Reserve's aggressive plan to raise interest rates will be insufficient to tame inflation and overcome economic fallout from the war in Ukraine.

Tim Hicks, the Arkansas company’s chief administrative officer, will succeed Greg McKinney as CFO in June. Meanwhile, Cindy Wolfe will be promoted to the newly created role of chief operating officer.

Mike Roffler takes over at a time when the San Francisco bank’s focus on mortgage lending is expected to come under pressure from rising rates.

The San Francisco bank promoted its president, Mike Roffler, to the top job. He succeeds founder Jim Herbert, who has been on medical leave and now becomes executive chairman.

With the Russia-Ukraine conflict intensifying and prices soaring, the bank could be among many to report similar issues in the first quarter.

Citing customers’ increased adoption of digital services over the past two years, banks are shrinking their physical presence, while also renovating the locations they keep — but credit unions are bucking the trend.

Chicago Title Insurance Co. and Chicago Title Co. LLC agreed to the payment to resolve a lawsuit brought by the bank, which said the firms had helped orchestrate a borrowing scam involving liquor licenses, according to a regulatory filing.

The $142 million deal would vault the buyer from the 21st-largest bank in Philadelphia to the 12th largest.

TriCo Bancshares said regulators will allow it to finalize its $165.6 million acquisition of Valley Republic. The deal was initially expected to close last year.

Richard Adams Sr. will step down from United Bankshares' top job on April 1, after 47 years. Current President Richard Adams Jr. will take over.