Corporate governance

With the coronavirus pandemic intensifying and hopes for a quick economic recovery fading, banks large and small are reducing headcounts, shuttering branches, shedding office space and generally trying to trim expenses wherever they can.

CEO Greg Carmichael says the Cincinnati company has cut expenses but will proceed with branch openings in the Southeast and investments in its commercial loan and mortgage origination platforms to lay the groundwork for post-pandemic growth.

Recruiting directors from a variety of backgrounds is a challenge familiar to many credit unions. A member of one of the nation's largest CUs is calling for that institution to address the problem.

A letter from the National Taxpayers Union requested changes, such as requiring federal credit unions to fill out a certain IRS form for non-profits, before lawmakers considered easing member business lending limits.

See this crisis not as a nail in your corporate coffin but as an opportunity to move your team and members forward, said OBI Creative CEO Mary Ann O'Brien.

United Methodist Federal Credit Union is set to become Interfaith Credit Union. It is also planning to absorb a small South Dakota-based institution with a similar field of membership.

The streak of strong gains for new members was flagging by the end of 2019 and has only worsened since then.

The Louisville, Ky.-based credit union has been open to consumers in nine counties across two states since 2004, but the new name is intended to prevent confusion about who is eligible to join.

Some 3,400 additional staffers in the treasury management group will be required to get pre-clearance before making trades. The policy change was driven in part by increased regulatory scrutiny, the bank said.

Combining the two Southern California-based institutions will create the state's eighth-largest credit union. The deal is also a homecoming of sorts of Xceed CEO Teresa Freeborn, who was previously an executive at Kinecta.

The Los Angeles company said Chang Liu, who runs its bank, will succeed Pin Tai, who is retiring.

A merger proposal at Partners Financial Federal Credit Union was rejected in a member vote. The failure has revealed tensions between management and the board.

The North Carolina regional created by the merger of BB&T and SunTrust is saving money by shedding office space and reworking vendor contracts, but it was forced to put its systems integration on hold for up to a year to prioritize tech upgrades tied to the pandemic.

The South Carolina-based credit union will buy two locations from Arkansas-based Bank OZK as it moves to exit the Palmetto State.

The Boulder-based institution can now serve consumers across 16 different counties, or more than 88% of the state's population.

The Fed’s recent action capping dividend payments might prove inadequate once the coronavirus crisis really hits banks’ capital.

A deal to merge Riverset CU into Allegant Community FCU will create the third-largest credit union in western Pennsylvania.

The pressure is on for banks to help Black and Hispanic households build net worth. Many say that starts with diversifying the ranks of middle and upper management.

Center Parc Credit Union, which will operate as a unit of Atlanta Postal, is set to open a pair of Walmart branches this year and a free-standing facility in 2021.

Citizens Bancorp Investment has agreed to buy American Bancshares in a deal expected to close later this year.