Minnesota

Employees of the Minnesota bank get a $500 "self-improvement allowance" each year.

The year's second-biggest bank merger created a Midwestern regional with nearly $50 billion in assets, and its CEO and executive vice chairman don't intend to stop there.

Locations with a welcoming atmosphere and the latest technology can be a key part of a credit union’s marketing strategy.

The $10 million-asset institution struggled with profitability, posting a loss of more than $12,000 during Q1.

Charles Friederichs, already serving in an interim capacity, has been appointed permanent CEO of the $1.1 billion-asset institution.

Gene Carroll led Pipefitters Steamfitters Credit Union from 1979 to 2007 while serving on various boards within the industry.

Members at Starcor Credit Union have approved the merger into St. Cloud Financial.

Val Mindak, who has led Park City Credit Union for a decade, will help advise Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari.

About 100 financial institutions are owned by or work with Native Americans, yet traditional banking services remain out of reach for many in this demographic.

The companies had planned to make Chemical CEO David Provost the new leader before October's market gyrations led them to break off talks. When they revisited the deal, several things changed — including Provost's role.

In a unique deal, organizers of Village Financial Cooperative received $500,000 from the Minneapolis City Council as they aim for a June opening.

The Association for Black Economic Power will receive an interest-free forgivable loan and a grant from the city to help pay for a retail space and equipment for the effort.

Kelly Skalicky has succeeded her father as CEO of the Minnesota bank.

Donald Finn began his credit union career in 1964 by working as a loan officer for a Michigan institution.

The payment marks the fifth consecutive year the Minnesota-based institution has issued a patronage dividend.

Soo Line Credit Union would merge into Central Minnesota Credit Union, creating an institution with more than $1.1 billion in assets.

The Hermantown, Minn.-based institution has added two new counties in Minnesota that it can now serve.

OnApproach was launched in 2005, while Trellance was launched just two years ago as a division of CSCU

Credit unions in the Gopher State have pledged at least $3.5 million to the Credit Union National Association's awareness effort.

Both banks' need for scale started the conversation and the lifting of the SIFI threshold helped seal the deal. Here are five takeaways from one of the industry's biggest recent mergers.