Growth strategies

GreenState Credit Union's agreements to buy community banks in Illinois and Nebraska renewed the debate over whether federal tax exemption gives credit unions an unfair competitive advantage.

Cypress Trust in Palm Beach is poised to pull off a rarity: the conversion of a wealth management firm into a community bank. It’s simply another way to take advantage of the ongoing melding of the two financial services sectors, CEO Dana Kilborne says.

The bank is launching a business called Morgan Health aimed at improving employee benefits and promoting health equity, first for JPMorgan’s workers and then for other large companies.

Deutsche Bank must be ready for possible acquisitions once consolidation in European banking accelerates, CEO Christian Sewing said, the clearest hint yet that he’s considering deals again halfway through his four-year turnaround program.

Michael Butler relied on partnerships with tech startups in areas such as checking and mobile banking to turn Radius into a digital-only bank before its sale to LendingClub. As the new CEO of Grasshopper Bank, he plans to strike similar deals to expand beyond business lending.

FinTrust Capital Partners in South Carolina has $2 billion of assets under management.

Princeton Portfolio Strategies Group would become the sixth asset management business that the New Jersey banking company has bought since 2014.

The Denver company, which has branches in El Paso, will gain more locations in cities such as Dallas and Austin with the pending purchase.

Both credit unions are based in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

National Australia Bank and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group, the country’s third- and fourth-largest lenders by value, are in talks with Citigroup over the assets, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Arkansas company will gain branches around Nashville as part of the acquisition.

The company agreed to pay $104 million for a one-branch bank with $391 million of assets.

Lenders including Howard Bancorp and First Carolina Bank are shunning acquisitions as a route into new markets, to avoid overpaying for targets and inheriting potential loan problems.

The company, once known as Southern National Bancorp of Virginia, plans to launch the as-yet-unnamed platform by the end of this year.

The purchases of Truck Insurance Specialists and Hometown Insurance are expected to help the company expand its dealings in transportation and agriculture.

The company will start to offer insurance planning and risk management services as part of its purchase of Strategic Wealth Group in Valdosta, Ga.

The company’s retail banking and auto-lending businesses in the U.S. generated a larger share of overall profits in the first quarter, and Executive Chairman Ana Botín and other executives unveiled expansion plans for both units.

The Arkansas bank is turning to asset-based lending and loans to venture capital and other investment groups to help fill a void created by a shortage of new, big-ticket commercial real estate deals.

Mike Daniels has been president and CEO of Nicolet's bank since 2015.

The Dallas company will pay nearly $54 million for a 49% stake in a lender that operates in 10 states.