Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. in New York has raised $34.4 million through a stock offering.

Employees are the heart and soul of any company. When they are engaged, they behave in ways that have a tremendous positive impact. Companies that want to tap into that power should foster these three attitudes in their employee ranks.

The era of banks and fintech companies cozying up to each other is in full bloom. Fintechs realize they can better disrupt the industry from within, while banks are looking for partners to help them navigate the digital world. Here's a look at how banks worldwide are buying, investing in and in some cases lending to fintech firms.

Millennials came of age in the wake of the Great Recession and have developed a hardened skepticism about banks. For banks to attract them as employees, it's going take more than a promise of work-life balance.

Familiar names — and more than a dozen newbies — can be found in our annual ranking of the nation’s most employee-friendly banks. Find out who earned a spot on the list and why these 60 banks are so successful at keeping their employees happy and engaged.

If roughing it together in the wilderness and cooking for one another build character and team spirit in schoolkids, scouts and soldiers, why shouldn't they do the same for bankers?

The "Culture Club" at Machias Savings Bank is not a group of '80s music fans. It's a committee — made up mainly of people who work in its human resources and marketing departments — that oversees the bank's employee engagement initiatives, including its new Culture Champion program.

Sometimes the very challenges millennials introduce — whether it is seeking more benefits, demanding flexible schedules or asking for frequent feedback on performance — can turn banks into better places to work for employees of all ages.

Quirky Amarillo National Bank asks the strangest job interview questions, has a "director of celebrations" on staff, and makes sure nobody has a title with the word "chief" in it. There isn't even a CEO.

Chesapeake Bank in Kilmarnock, Va., has endeared itself to its community, and its employees, by rewarding those who support area businesses.

Of the three steps Deloitte recommends for creating a corporate culture that'll help your bank thrive, the most important one is connecting with employees on an emotional level.

Elmer Laslo, the chief executive of 1st Summit Bank in Johnstown, Pa., for 39 years, likes to say he manages "by walking around." Not only does his approach resonate with employees in a big way, it has helped keep 1st Summit among the most profitable publicly traded small banks in the country.

Roughly once a quarter senior executives at Community Bank in Brandon, Miss., take a select group of up-and-coming managers on a three-day retreat. The trips are part of a management training course known as the Falcon Program that took flight in 2012.

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

Sometimes what makes a bank a great place to work is more about the coworkers than the job itself.

Citizens Bank of West Virginia in Elkins boosts morale by having employees deliver surprise gifts of thousands of dollars each year to residents of its hardscrabble town (pop. 7,000).

Make it three in a row for Live Oak Bank. Initiatives like "Live Oak U" help explain why this bank has topped our list of the best places to work for three years running.

HomeBanc's chairman and chief executive, Jerry Campbell, prefers not to be addressed as "Mr. Campbell." If an employee of any rank has a question, "Hey, Jerry" suffices.