Compared to a year ago, fewer bankers expect their institutions to make an acquisition in the next 12 months, as they focus on navigating through the financial fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Even with new COVID-19 restrictions in place for the next three weeks, Michigan sits “well positioned” to eventually recover economically from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new Comerica Inc. outlook.

ROCKFORD — Wolverine World Wide Inc. reported a strong performance from its e-commerce business in a third quarter earnings report Thursday, though quarterly and year-to-date revenue are down compared to last year.

Mercantile Bank’s move into Ohio with the opening of a Cincinnati mortgage lending office will allow the Grand Rapids-based bank to “put a flag down there,” bank officials say.

M&A deal flow that was dampened during the pandemic could soar in 2021, according to an annual outlook of executives and M&A professionals.

Independent Bank Corp. grew earnings in the third quarter against the “many challenges” of the COVID-19 pandemic.

HASTINGS — Mercantile Bank Corp. plans to sell a Hastings branch office to Lake Trust Credit Union as part of an ongoing initiative to shrink its office footprint.

For more than 45 years, Purple East has been a stalwart alternative lifestyle retailer in Grand Rapids, gaining a reputation for selling an assortment of clothing, glass pipes and smoking accessories.

HOLLAND — Costs from the COVID-19 pandemic lowered Macatawa Bank Corp.’s most recent quarterly earnings.

Kent County has added $3.5 million to a grant program providing financial assistance to small businesses ailing from the financial fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

GRAND RAPIDS — Mercantile Bank Corp. recorded lower third quarter earnings amid what President and CEO Robert Kaminski Jr. called a “challenging operating environment” from the COVID-19 pandemic.

GRAND RAPIDS — An employee group has taken a majority ownership position in investment advisory firm Red Cedar Investment Management.

A new capital fund seeded with state money got off to a quick start and has made investments in a half dozen young technology companies since launching two months ago.

GRAND RAPIDS — Grand Angels President Tim Parker has stepped down to run a community foundation in Wisconsin.

Meijer Inc. recently invested $500,000 in Rende Progress Capital, a racial equity loan fund in Grand Rapids.

After taking a step back in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, angel investors say they are actively seeking deals, particularly in startups that are able to take advantage of the resulting economic disruptions.

Securities regulators hope a change in the federal definition of accredited investors brings more people into the investor pool for startups and other companies seeking private capital, although it remains unclear whether it will significantly affect the flow of capital.

Huntington Bancshares Inc. has pledged to lend and invest $5 billion in Michigan over five years to support financial opportunities for businesses, consumers and community organizations.

Since forming two years ago, High Street Insurance Partners Inc. grew steadily through acquisitions.

The COVID-19 pandemic that shut down much of the economy in March had all businesses scrambling to maintain operations — if they were allowed to stay open — and keep employees safe. Banks closed their branch lobbies and directed customers to use drive-thru lanes or digital banking to handle transactions. 

Michigan’s economy fell further than the nation as a whole in the second quarter and could take three years to return to the peak of late 2019, according to a new economic outlook from Comerica Inc.

Grand Rapids-based private equity firm Blackford Capital has closed on the sale of Ellison Bakery, a maker of cookies and other baked goods that’s headquartered in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Former Chemical Bank offices statewide now carry the TCF National Bank name.

West Michigan Community Bank has extended its Grand Rapids-area footprint with a new office in Grand Rapids Township.

GRAND RAPIDS — A new venture capital fund to invest in businesses owned by racial and ethnic minorities looks to secure financial backing locally before reaching out nationally for investors.

Given how hard the economy fell in the second quarter, earnings for West Michigan-based banks held up relatively well, although they were primarily lower than a year earlier as banks set aside more in reserve to cover potential future loan losses.

An acquisition last fall helped ChoiceOne Financial Services Inc. report quarterly earnings that tripled from a year ago.

Independent Bank Corp. has reported higher second quarter earnings with a larger reserve to cover loan losses.

Macatawa Bank Corp. reported lower earnings for the second quarter after raising a reserve to cover potential future loan losses.

TCF Bank’s pledge to lend $1 billion over five years to minority- and women-owned businesses extends into West Michigan, where the company’s market leader in Grand Rapids says the effort will require leveraging community partnerships.

The M&A market that slowed in the first half of 2020 with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic should rebound well over the next 12 months as deals that got put on hold go forward, according to a midyear survey by law firm Dykema Gossett PLLC.

DOWAGIAC — After they prepared for the opening of the Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo, the leaders of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi years ago sought ways to use the revenues to assist tribal citizens to achieve self-sufficiency.