Ken McCarthy

With an agreement in hand to buy Bank of Commerce Holdings in Sacramento, the Washington company will prioritize filling in a 200-mile gap between the seller's footprint and its own.

The leaders of the largest credit union trade groups are back on the road visiting members, and the organizations are also planning live conferences this year.

The deal for Bank of Commerce Holdings in Sacramento would be the first bank acquisition in the Golden State for Tacoma, Washington-based Columbia.

The combined company will operate under the Royal name and leadership.

MidUSA Credit Union in Middletown, Ohio, and Heartland Federal Credit Union in Dayton have combined to form MyUSA Credit Union, which will operate nine branches in the Miami Valley and hold roughly $350 million of assets.

The chief financial officer, Doug Fagan, will succeed Sundie Seefried, who is retiring.

Isaac Johnson had been running the organization on an interim basis.

Michigan Legacy Credit Union is increasing its minimum hourly wage by 23% to $16, adding annual costs that equal nearly half of its first-quarter profit. The expense is worth it to compete with banks that have boosted pay, its CEO says.

The Brunswick, Georgia, credit union has hired Mary Jenrette, who was most recently senior vice president of private wealth management at the bank.

Bank lobbyists are once again calling on Congress to reexamine credit unions’ tax-exempt status, this time citing the proliferation of bank acquisitions by credit unions. So far, their pleas have gone largely ignored.