Strategic planning

The Wisconsin company plans to shutter half of Bank Mutual's branches, including seven in Milwaukee.

Bank Mutual was still in talks to buy a bank roughly its own size when it began exploring a sale. The move allowed Bank Mutual to quickly find a buyer after its planned acquisition fell through.

From preparing for the next recession and digital disruption to better planning and what millennials want, CUNA Mutual Group’s 2017 Online Discovery Conference covered a lot of ground.

Bryn Mawr Bank has launched a mutual fund at a time when heightened competition and regulatory oversight are the norm.

Arvest agreed to pay nearly $400 million in cash for a bank with 42 branches in Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.

The company says the tracking devices are a way to reduce office space and know when shared workstations are free, but "hot-desking" also raises questions about whether employees are being spied on.

Lynn Harton was finally named CEO of United Community Bank after a five-year apprenticeship, though Jimmy Tallent remains CEO of the parent company. The executives have long touted an ability to bounce ideas off each other as a reason for United's success.

Approval from the Federal Reserve is the last remaining hurdle for the $2.2 billion transaction.

In addition to typical industry challenges, family-owned banks also have to address generational leadership and estate planning at a time when an increasing number of their CEOs are looking to retire.

The Florida company will pay nearly $600 million to buy HCBF Holding and Sunshine Bancorp.