Displaying items tagged: Mercantile Bank Corp

As one bank merger affecting the West Michigan marketplace focuses on integration, another much smaller deal heads toward shareholder votes next month.

GRAND RAPIDS — Mercantile Bank Corp. today reported strong results for the second quarter, setting up the second half of 2019 for continued growth.

Mercantile Bank Corp. began 2019 with higher earnings and strong loan growth that it expects to continue through the year.

GRAND RAPIDS — Steady growth led Mercantile Bank Corp. to proceed with an addition at its corporate headquarters. Rising on the south side of the headquarters building at Leonard Street and U.S. 131 in Grand Rapids, the three-story, 25,000-square-foot addition will enable Mercantile Bank to bring together commercial banking teams and support staff — lenders, treasury and credit analysts — at one location.

Mercantile Bank Corp. recorded strong earnings and loan growth to end 2018, a trend executives expect should continue into 2019.

The Michigan Strategic Fund steered additional money into two capital funds that support high-tech startups and growing small businesses in the state.

The Invest Michigan Pre-Seed Fund II received $3 million to invest in startups through loans or equity. Grow Michigan LLC will receive $9.6 million for a second mezzanine-style fund that will provide loans to growing small businesses.

Mercantile Bank Corp. grew third quarter earnings by more than 20 percent compared to a year ago.

Private equity firm Auxo Investment Partners has completed its fifth acquisition in 13 months with a deal for a Warren-based stamping manufacturer.

GRAND RAPIDS — Manufacturer Midway Rotary Die Solutions has sold to a West Michigan-based private equity firm.

Mercantile Bank Corp. today reported higher earnings for the second quarter and first half of 2018.

A pair of initiatives across Southwest Michigan have a similar goal: supporting entrepreneurs starting small businesses in their respective cities and urban cores. 

Despite strong business optimism and continued economic expansion, bankers say they still see their West Michigan business clients taking a cautious approach to debt.

A lower federal tax rate and collecting on problem commercial loans helped boost Mercantile Bank Corp.’s earnings for the first quarter.

Executives at banks and credit unions across Michigan found common ground in advocating for legislation to ease federal regulations they say hurt smaller financial institutions and their ability to lend.

Mercantile Bank recorded slightly lower earnings for 2017, although executives say they’re satisfied with the bank’s performance.

John Donnelly considers Independent Bank Corp.’s proposed $63.1 million deal to buy Traverse City-based TCSB Bancorp Inc. as indicative of the bank mergers likely to occur in Michigan next year.

The further the U.S. gets from the last downturn, the greater the likelihood that another challenge will eventually “rear its head again,” says Mercantile Bank Corp. President and CEO Robert Kaminski. Yet as 2018 approaches, Kaminski doesn’t see any warnings signs from the Grand Rapids-based bank’s clients that portend a downturn is imminent. Instead, he expects the U.S. economy to stay on track.

Many of the forces that affected banks in 2017 — from rising interest rates and a good economy, to balancing digital technology investments with cybersecurity — remain the top issues bankers must manage in the year ahead.

Mercantile Bank Corp. today reported higher quarterly earnings.

GRAND RAPIDS — Citing demand for more diverse housing products, developers cautiously have started exploring whether to market new condominiums for sale in Grand Rapids’ downtown district.

GRAND RAPIDS — Closing on its first acquisitions should provide private equity firm Auxo Investment Partners momentum as it pursues additional deals in an active M&A market.

Higher interest rates during 2017 haven’t acted as a damper on commercial lending in West Michigan, although some lenders are seeing borrowers moving to fixed-rate business loans.

Among the commercial and industrial borrowers at Lake Michigan Credit Union, about one-third are expanding or buying new equipment that’s needed to grow their businesses.

Mercantile Bank Corp. today reported net income of $7.3 million, or 45 cents per share, for the second quarter with strong loan growth that’s projected to continue through the year.

Bankers in West Michigan and nationwide could get some regulatory relief this year.

Over the past decade, many small business owners put off expansions or capital equipment purchases for as long as they could.

Mercantile Bank Corp.’s net income dipped in the first quarter, the result of one-time events.

Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for March 6, 2017:

• M&A: American Grease Stick Co. of Muskegon was acquired last year by 3 Rivers Capital, a Pittsburgh, Pa.-based private equity firm. A manufacturer of branded automotive fluid transfer lines and related products for the automotive aftermarket industry, AGS has operations in Muskegon and the U.K. The company, which was founded in 1931, sells products through a variety of aftermarket retailers, including Advanced Auto Parts, AutoZone and Pep Boys, according to a statement. 3 Rivers purchased the company for $10 million from the Rosen family, according to a report in the Pittsburgh Business Times. The deal was backed by $9.75 million in subordinated debt and an equity co-investment from PNC Mezzanine Capital. JP Morgan Chase also provided debt financing for the transaction. Metz Lewis Brodman Must O’Keefe LLC of Pittsburgh served as legal counsel to 3 Rivers Capital. The sellers worked with investment banker Stout Risius Ross Inc. of Chicago.

Mercantile Bank Corp. plans to open a commercial loan office in Troy that will eventually grow to a full-service branch.

Mercantile Bank Corp. today reported higher earnings to end 2016, driven by strong loan growth.