Americas

Garden Savings FCU aims to boost brand awareness by focusing on some of the things that make New Jersey unique.

Online lenders are evading New York regulations by claiming their loans are “made” by federally chartered or out-of-state partner banks, Department of Financial Services Superintendent Maria Vullo told lawmakers Monday.

Union Bankshares is poised to become a nearly $12 billion-asset bank in a state that lost most of its midsize institutions in the 1990s and early 2000s.

The company agreed to buy Commerce Bancshares, which has three branches in Boston.

The $701 million acquisition will make Union the biggest community bank based in Virginia.

Post-merger, the Long Island-based Bethpage will have assets of about $7.4 billion.

Financial Institutions in western New York withdrew plans to raise $40 million.

The Washington company said that Sean Brennan, its president and chief operating officer, will become CEO when Jim Mitchell retires next year.

The bank, based on the east coast of Florida, is bulking up on the Gulf. It has agreed to buy NorthStar Bank in Tampa a month after buying another bank in the same city.

The former New Jersey mutual is stepping up efforts to court bigger commercial clients. The move will help Investors diversify its loan book and deploy capital while it is barred from buying banks.