Growth strategies

Profitability improved significantly last year for banks with less than $2 billion of assets, but not because of anything they did. Some troubling trends lurk beneath those big gains too.

The National Credit Union Administration and the Small Business Administration have established a program to boost SBA lending by credit unions, which was very light last year. It is sure to irk bankers, who have raised competitive concerns.

The Yankton, S.D.-based institution can now serve 18 counties across two states.

Two attorneys told a credit union audience the growing wave of marijuana legalization could have just as big an impact on financial institutions that don't serve the cannabis industry as those that do.

Over the past two years, Uma Wilson's strategy took a program that had been losing customers on a year-over-year basis and transformed it into the fastest-growing issuer of Visa cards in the region.

The Capitola, Calif.-based institution reached the milestone a few months after acquiring another credit union.

The Honolulu-based credit union said its earnings dropped by more than 37% from a year earlier.

Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union wants to eventually add eight counties to the four it currently serves.

Erika Marquez discovered an anomaly that was causing Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. to treat some loans as though they required significantly more regulatory capital than they actually did.

The Springfield, Vt.-based institution is the latest CU to cross a neighboring border, as a number of other institutions have looked to expand their reach

It is comfortable with the deal for MidSouth despite the seller's lingering credit issues, given a shared history and the opportunity to add low-cost deposits.

Innovation is part of Emily Girsch's daily routine. That's why the chief financial officer at Lincoln Savings Bank in Cedar Falls, Iowa, spends a lot of time thinking about the need to modernize bank regulations for the digital age.

MidSouth had spent the last two years improving credit quality by reducing its exposure to energy credits.

The NCUA is letting Union Yes in California raise capital by turning to temporary funding sources, which banks have complained is an example of the regulator's overreach.

The NCUA is letting Union Yes in California raise capital by turning to temporary funding sources, which banks have complained is an example of the regulator's overreach.

Banks from the North and South are converging on the city, spurred by a spike in deposits and employment numbers that trump national averages.

After the merger is completed, Cedars-Sinai Federal Credit Union's one branch will be relocated.

SmartFinancial lined up a compelling merger with Entegra. Then a bigger bank offered more money and a higher premium.

Members of Bard Employees Federal Credit Union approved the merger into Baxter Credit Union earlier this month.

Entegra Financial, which had a deal to be sold to SmartFinancial, has instead agreed to be sold to First Citizens, which offered more money and will pay a breakup fee for the initial deal.