Displaying items tagged: finance

Insurance broker First Agency Inc. has sold to Rolling Meadows, Ill.-based Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

A small private equity firm started in Southern Michigan plans to invest in a niche area most investors ignore. In targeting small manufacturers in small towns and other rural markets across the state, Parma-based Fresh Water Ventures Fund LP seeks to acquire small businesses and maintain operations in their hometowns.

The $8 million in capital West Michigan Community Bank just raised will go to support further growth and perhaps develop another branch location in the Grand Rapids area.

Interest rates likely will rise again in 2019. How much and how often remains the question following the latest quarter-point increase in the federal funds rate last week by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), which for two years has been raising interest rates from historic lows reached a decade ago during the Great Recession.

Volatility came back to the stock market in 2018 and Todd Harvey doesn’t see it going away in 2019. The director of Fifth Third Private Bank since 2012 and a wealth management professional for 16 years, Harvey believes the market next year will have to cope with rising interest rates amid a U.S. economy that will continue growing, although at a slower rate.

Bank of America’s West Michigan operations had a record year in 2018 in terms of the number of new business clients. The year came on top of similar results in 2017, when the bank consolidated local operations into a single office in downtown Grand Rapids, a move that better organized and generated greater collaboration among staff in pursuing new business. Echoing the sentiment of other local executives, Tabben said business clients are working to cope with the region’s tight labor market. 

Krista Flynn joined Chemical Bank in July as regional president for West Michigan, leading a market that includes Grand Rapids and Holland. She previously spent seven years in corporate banking at PNC Bank and 15 years at JPMorgan before going to work at Chemical, the largest bank based in Michigan. Chemical Bank, with more than $20.9 billion in total assets, has been building its commercial banking and wealth management staff, and is presently building out a new regional headquarters in downtown Grand Rapids. Parent company Chemical Financial Corp. also plans to develop a new corporate headquarters in downtown Detroit.

Kalamazoo-based Consumers Credit Union surpassed a key milestone when it hit $1 billion in assets back in May 2018. By the end of the third quarter, the 92,000-member credit union had grown assets further to $1.07 billion, and President and CEO Kit Snyder expects assets to close the year at $1.1 billion. The growth during 2018 came as Consumers Credit Union settled into a new headquarters in The Groves Engineering Business Technology Park in Kalamazoo.

GRAND RAPIDS — A new office in suburban Detroit gives Blackford Capital a market presence to scout for deals in the heart of the auto industry and center for American manufacturing. 

PARCHMENT — Advia Credit Union would gain a larger market presence in northern Illinois with the proposed acquisition of Golden Eagle Community Bank.

Michigan will maintain job growth through 2019, although at a slower rate than the past several years as employers have fewer people to hire.

Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for Nov. 12, 2018.

GRAND RAPIDS — A lukewarm initial public stock offering by drinkware and cooler-maker Yeti Holdings Inc. spelled a smaller-than-expected payout for a prominent West Michigan family office. 

GRAND RAPIDS — Even when it first acquired Dickinson Press LLC more than three years ago, Blackford Capital saw Brainerd, Minn.-based CJK Group Inc. as a potential buyer.

Seven credit unions in Michigan plans to open a new trust bank late in the first quarter of 2019 after receiving approval from state regulators.

MiBiz, in conjunction with the Association for Corporate Growth of Western Michigan, highlighted the winners and finalists of the 2018 M&A Deals and Dealmakers of the Year Awards on Oct. 28 at the Gerald  R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids. 

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.

An already strong M&A market could get even more competitive in 2019, driven by a good U.S. economy and plenty of available capital.

The spring acquisition of TCSB Bancorp Inc. in Traverse City, combined with strong loan growth, drove earnings higher for Independent Bank Corp. in the third quarter.

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

Strong loan growth drove Independent Bank Corp. to higher earnings for the third quarter.

ChoiceOne Financial Services Inc. recorded higher earnings of $1.7 million, or 50 cents per share, for the third quarter. The quarterly result compares with $1.6 million, or 50 cents per share, during the same period a year earlier.

Mercantile Bank Corp. today reported higher quarterly earnings.

Chemical Financial Corp. plans to close and consolidate 25 more branches by the end of the year and trim its workforce 7 percent in a cost-cutting initiative that will generate $20 million in annualized savings.

GRAND RAPIDS — Horizon Bank’s move into the West Michigan market provided an opportunity to launch a private banking service based in Grand Rapids that will eventually extend across the corporation.

Lake Michigan Credit Union plans to grow its Florida presence with a deal to buy a community bank.

Macatawa Bank Corp. maintained strong earnings and lending growth in the first quarter.