Mutual banks

Call it mutual respect. Bankers from mutually owned British building societies and similarly structured U.S. thrifts recently gathered in New England to address common challenges and share ideas about staying relevant at a time of rapid change in financial services. Here are the takeaways from their meetings.

The Pittsburgh bank opted to give more than half of its employees $2,000 pay hikes instead of the bonuses handed out by many rivals.

Dollar Bank has applied to form a mutual holding company as it nears a key regulatory threshold.

The Boston-area bank will add branches near New Hampshire after buying the cooperative bank.

The company will merge with Kentucky Federal Savings and Loan by the end of this year.

Mid-Southern Bancorp could use proceeds to make more loans or to pursue acquisitions.

A recent acquisition that was highly dilutive, and a lack of suitable mutual targets, could spur HarborOne Bancorp to pursue a second-step conversion.

The mutual has agreed to buy Cape Ann Insurance, which specializes in personal insurance products.

Savings Bank of Walpole and New Hampshire Mutual Bancorp believe merging help them preserve a banking model that has faced pressure in recent years. The CEO at Savings Bank will also replace New Hampshire Mutual's retiring leader.

The Boston mutual, which lost its innovation team when it spun off Numerated last year, has hired a State Street executive to oversee a plan to encourage all employees to be more creative.