Federal legislation advancing through Congress this session could lead to more banks serving marijuana-related businesses in the U.S. and Michigan.

Michigan’s venture capital industry made modest strides in the last few years to create greater diversity within its ranks and in the number of startups run by women or minorities that receive investments.

ST. JOSEPH — Edgewater Bank branches become part of United Federal Credit Union next week following federal regulatory and shareholder approvals of a merger between the two.

GRAND RAPIDS — Independent Bank Corp.’s first quarter soared from a year earlier, driven in part by a strong mortgage market.

Venture capital investors in Michigan backed more startup companies in 2020 than ever before, though the amount they put into deals declined by half in a year when the COVID-19 pandemic altered deal flow.

HOLLAND — Macatawa Bank Corp. reported higher earnings for the first quarter as gains on mortgages tripled from a year earlier and more than offset lower interest income.

GRAND RAPIDS — Strong income from mortgage lending helped to push Mercantile Bank Corp.’s earnings higher for the first quarter.

TRAVERSE CITY — A Boston private equity firm has acquired Traverse City-based High Street Insurance Partners Inc., an insurance brokerage platform company formed in 2018 that has since acquired two-dozen agencies across the U.S.

Experts view the mergers and acquisitions market and U.S. economy with slightly more optimism than six months ago, although the prospect of corporate and other federal tax increases has them concerned about the resulting effects on deal flow.

First National Bank of Michigan has named Mike Hollander as Grand Rapids market president.

Mergers and acquisitions should remain strong through 2021 — driven by several factors affecting deal flow — although finding a good deal may come with a high price for buyers.

Shareholders at TCF Financial Corp. and Huntington Bancshares Inc. on Thursday backed the planned $22 billion merger between the two banks. The deal remains on track to close in the second quarter, pending federal regulatory approvals.

While Huntington Bancshares Inc. and TCF Financial Corp. executives say a planned merger between the two companies will create a Midwest banking powerhouse, some experts view it as an opportunity for competitors to gain both business and talent.

The Shyft Group was busy in 2020 — and a couple of major deals were only part of the dizzying year.

The two acquisitions ChoiceOne Financial Services Inc. closed over a 15-month period tripled the size of the Sparta-based bank holding company.

Greg Williams was looking for a company that could move global insurance brokerage Acrisure LLC into the world of artificial intelligence.

As the COVID-19 pandemic was just starting to set in last spring, Jeff Lambert jotted down the words “positively legendary” on a sticky note.

As the economy abruptly ground to a halt last spring under COVID-19 restrictions, Jeff Ott stayed busy.

Since launching in July 2019, the Charter Growth Capital Fund has made five investments and raised $31 million to make minority investments in growing, middle-market companies that need growth capital.

GRAND RAPIDS — The West Michigan venture capital fund that intends to invest in growing, minority-owned businesses has garnered attention from interested parties who want to replicate the model elsewhere in the U.S.

HOLLAND — Macatawa Bank Corp. increased earnings in the fourth quarter, although full-year results declined from the prior year.

Independent Bank Corp. posted strong earnings growth during 2020 based in part on a strong mortgage pipeline and despite pandemic-related challenges.

Huntington Bancshares Inc. intends to close 198 branch offices — about half of which are based in Meijer Inc. stores in Michigan — after completing the proposed $22 billion acquisition of Detroit-based TCF Financial Corp.

GRAND RAPIDS — Mercantile Bank Corp. ended 2020 with higher quarterly earnings despite the ongoing costs and economic turbulence from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The latest state effort to provide financial aid to Michigan small businesses and entertainment venues that are ailing from the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting restrictions has a relatively short application window based on previous demand.

TRAVERSE CITY — Insurance brokerage High Street Insurance Partners Inc. has acquired two more agencies, adding to the firm’s existing market presence in the eastern U.S. and expanding it into the Pacific Northwest.

John Ruther joined the Grand Rapids office of O’Keefe Consulting LLC in July as managing director. The company, based in Bloomfield Hills, offers a range of services including turnaround and restructuring consulting, corporate finance and litigation support. Ruther spoke with MiBiz about his view that some of the business practices that employers adopted in the pandemic — remote work and accelerating the use of automation — will remain in place in 2021 and beyond.

Wall Street dealt with its share of volatility in 2020, a year with a deep decline at the outset of the pandemic followed by a later rebound. Citing volatility in the stock market over the last few years, some investors have shifted toward safety in managing their money. Susan Vogel-Vanderson, the managing director for Fifth Third Private Bank in West Michigan, hopes the new year brings some certainty to financial markets. A trusts and estates attorney, Vogel-Vanderson also is monitoring what could happen to tax rates in 2021 under the Biden administration, particularly if Democrats take control of the U.S. Senate after the Georgia runoffs.

A new $200 million fund to support growing businesses in Michigan intends to direct half of the capital it raises to financing minority-owned companies.

Raising capital for a startup company is never easy, though there are steps entrepreneurs with a dream and a vision can take to help their cause.

The Chicago-area insurance brokerage firm that acquired Grand Rapids-based Lighthouse Group intends to look for other deals in Michigan.

GRAND RAPIDS — Angel investor group Grand Angels has named Dale Grogan as its new managing partner.