Mercantile gets green light to buy Eastern Michigan

Published December 19, 2025 1:33 PM

Updated December 19, 2025 1:33 PM

1 Min Read

In this week's banking news roundup: Mercantile's pending acquisition of Eastern Michigan is approved by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago; the National Community Reinvestment Coalition and Rise Economy announce a $2.5 billion addendum to Columbia Bank's community benefits agreement; the Federal Reserve Board and CFPB raise thresholds for certain credit and lease transactions; and more.

Mercantile gets regulatory green light to buy Eastern Michigan

Mercantile Bank's pending acquisition of Eastern Michigan Financial has been approved by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, the two companies said this week.

Shareholders of Croswell, Michigan-based Eastern Michigan are voting today on the proposed $95.8 million cash-and-stock deal. If they approve it, the transaction is set to close on Dec. 31.

In July, Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Mercantile disclosed plans to buy Eastern Michigan. In doing so, the $6.2 billion-asset Mercantile would gain 12 branches in three Eastern Michigan counties — St. Clair, Huron and Sanilac — where it currently has no presence.

In October, the two parties amended the agreement, which now calls for Eastern Michigan Financial to merge into Shamrock Merger Sub, a wholly owned acquisition subsidiary of Mercantile. Merger Sub will then merge into Mercantile, which will temporarily operate as a two-bank holding company.

The banks, Eastern Michigan Bank and Mercantile Bank, will operate separately until the first quarter of 2027, at which time the former will be consolidated into the latter. —Allissa Kline

Columbia Bank expands community commitment in California

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition and Rise Economy announced a $2.5 billion addendum to Columbia Bank's community benefits agreement following its acquisition of Pacific Premier Bank. This expansion significantly boosts the bank's commitments across California.

The updated CBA, praised by NCRC President and CEO Jesse Van Tol, reflects a "strong commitment to expanding economic opportunity," particularly supporting rural communities and small businesses in underserved areas. Rise Economy CEO Paulina Gonzalez-Brito noted that the agreement delivers meaningful public benefits, strengthening support for small businesses and farms, investing in tribal-led CDFIs and improving access to affordable housing.

The $2.5 billion commitment also includes: $630 million for small business and farm lending; $1.395 billion for community investment and development; $525 million for home lending; and $10.6 million in CRA-focused philanthropy. —Editorial Staff

Fed, CFPB raise thresholds for loans subject to TILA disclosures

The Federal Reserve Board and the CFPB raised the thresholds for certain credit and lease transactions that affect when lenders are required to make disclosures under the Truth in Lending Act.

On Friday, the agencies published notices in the Federal Register on changes to Regulation Z, which implements TILA, and Regulation M that governs consumer leases for cars and furniture. Effective Jan. 1, the dollar threshold for consumer credit and leases will rise 2.1% to $73,400, up from $71,900 this year. Transactions at or below the threshold are subject to regulatory protection and specific TILA disclosures to consumers about lease terms including payments and purchase options.

The CFPB also raised the ceiling on allowable charges under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which will increase up to $16 in 2026, from $15.50 this year and in 2024. The fee is charged when a consumer is not entitled to a free disclosure and must cover the cost for a credit report. Victims of identity thefts or fraud get free credit reports. —Kate Berry

Thom to retire as Bank of Montreal’s head of credit trading

Steve Thom will retire as head of global credit trading at Bank of Montreal, according to people familiar with the matter.

Thom joined the bank as a managing director five years ago and worked at Royal Bank of Canada for 27 years before that, according to his LinkedIn page. Thom also did a short stint at fixed income manager RP Investment Advisors in 2019.

Bank of Montreal has been reorganizing its capital markets unit with a series of appointments and layoffs. The division earned around C$2 billion (C$1.45 billion) on revenue of C$7.5 billion for the 2025 fiscal year, according to its annual report.

A spokesperson for the bank declined to comment. Thom didn't respond to a request for comment. —Chunzi Xu, Bloomberg News

JPMorgan names Edward Byun, Tegh Kapur to lead technology ECM

JPMorganChase named Edward Byun global head of technology equity capital markets and Tegh Kapur the head of technology ECM in the Americas.

Byun joined JPMorgan earlier this year from Goldman Sachs, while Kapur joined the firm last year from Morgan Stanley, according to an internal memo reviewed by Bloomberg News. They will each report jointly to David Bauer and Keith Canton, JPMorgan's co-heads of ECM Americas.

Byun spent nearly two decades with Goldman Sachs as a banker in Asia, according to his LinkedIn. Kapur was with Morgan Stanley for 14 years, and was previously its head of renewables, power and energy ECM, his LinkedIn profile shows.

JPMorgan is a big advisor to U.S. companies on ECM transactions and has worked on about $2.8 billion of IPOs on U.S. exchanges this year, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The firm was an advisor on technology IPOs including Klarna Group, CoreWeave and Figma this year, the data shows. —Bailey Lipschultz, Bloomberg News