Illinois

BMO Harris Bank in Chicago has agreed to sell 31 Wisconsin branches to a California real estate investment trust.

Northern Trust on Tuesday promoted Michael O'Grady to president. O'Grady currently serves as head of corporate and institutional services at the Chicago-based custody bank, overseeing businesses such as asset servicing and investment management.

Midland States Bancorp in Effingham, Ill., has plucked its new chief financial officer from a much larger bank: Kevin Thompson, who joins Midland from Zions Bancorp., where he had been senior vice president of corporate finance since 2014.

Midland States Bancorp in Effingham, Ill., has launched an efficiency push after a period of expansion that reached another milestone Thursday.

MB Financial in Chicago has appointed an executive from an advanced analytics company to its board. The $19 billion-asset company said in a press release Thursday that Sunil "Sonny" Garg is the energy solutions leader at Uptake.

The former chairman of the failed Premier Bank in Wilmette, Ill., was sentenced to five years in prison after he pleaded guilty to defrauding the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program.

As banks grow and their business models become more complex, some find that adding a general counsel to the staff makes sense. Bank SNB in Stillwater, Okla., says hiring one allowed it to reduce its legal fees by 80%. Here are the pros and cons.

Signature Bank in New York reported a sharp decline in quarterly profits after suffering steep losses on its Chicago portfolio of taxi medallion loans.

SunTrust Banks in Atlanta has agreed to buy the multifamily lending business of Pillar Financial in New York.

Northern Trust’s success in attracting new trust and investment management clients helped to boost its third-quarter profit.

Wintrust Financial in Rosemont, Ill., rode strong gains in both interest and fee income to a record profit in the third quarter.

West Town Bancorp in Illinois has revved up its government-backed lending to small businesses, making it a good example of how community banks can outhustle big lenders in the quest for new sources of fee income.

Regions Financial in Birmingham, Ala., has introduced an online consumer lending product that it uses technology developed by Avant.

Chicago Treasurer Kurt Summers plans to divest $25 million the city has invested with Wells Fargo after the company admitted to opening potentially millions of bogus client accounts, joining state officials who have pulled business from the bank because of the scandal.

Lisa McDougald, the deputy general counsel at the $222 billion-asset BB&T in Winston-Salem, N.C., and Leon Holschbach, chief executive at Midland States Bancorp, a $3 billion-asset company in Effingham, Ill., were appointed to the board this summer.

First Midwest Bancorp in Itasca, Ill., is planning to shutter 16 branches in connection with its acquisition of Standard Bancshares in Hickory Hill, Ill.

An initiative to create a more nurturing workplace helped First Busey improve its employee engagement, its standing with customers, and its performance.

Popular with employees: Evergreen provides employees with standing desks, which allows them to change positions from sitting to standing and back again as they like throughout the day.

First Busey, No. 44 in the overall ranking, is No. 7 in the category for banks with $3 billion to $10 billion of assets.

The Ohio company is eager to rev up SBA lending in the Windy City now that it has closed on its purchase of FirstMerit. CEO Steve Steinour also credits his company's willingness to make big upfront community commitments for a seamless approval process.