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A military pushback on a legislative bill favoring payday lender Moneytree
A proposed state law that would open the door for Moneytree and other payday lenders to make high-interest, short-term loans in Washington is drawing heat from military officials concerned about...
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With Seahawks/Sounders deal, HomeStreet hopes to get big brand boost
HomeStreet Bank has struck a deal with the Seattle Seahawks and Seattle Sounders FC to become the official bank of the pro sports teams owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Seattle-based...
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Ranking Washington banks by bad loans (slide show)
Washington state's community banks have made inroads in reducing the bad loans they accumulated as a result of the real estate collapse that fueled the Great Recession. But bad loans continue to be a...
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Heritage’s deal for Valley Bank ‘high water mark’ for bank price
What price does a well-capitalized bank with nearly no bad loans fetch in an acquisition deal these days? Not as much as it used to. Heritage Financial Corp. is buying Valley Community Bancshares Inc.,...
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Votes still coming up short in AmericanWest’s deal for PremierWest Bank
AmericanWest Bank’s efforts to acquire PremierWest Bank have hit more headwinds. For the second time in a month, board members of PremierWest Bancorp have failed to get enough shareholder votes to...
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Questions for James Kerr, president of Davidson Companies
In February 2012, James Kerr was named president of Davidson Companies, an employee-owned financial services holding company. Kerr had previously headed up the individual investor group of the D.A....
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MoneyTree heads to Olympia with new plan for short-term loans
At the apex in 2005, Washington’s payday lenders raked in $174 million in fees extending short-term, high-interest loans to folks with few options for emergency cash. Today, the state’s regulated...
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Want to trademark your pot product with the feds? Don't hold your breath
Marijuana and marijuana-infused products like Space Queen and Ganje Roast Wake N Bake Coffee are already for sale at some of Seattle’s medical marijuana shops. So with Washington state launching a...
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With payday loans in decline, MoneyTree seeks OK for new high-interest loans
In 2009, Washington’s Legislature passed tough reforms on the state’s fast-growing payday lending industry. The law -- the first of its kind in the nation -- restricted the number of payday loans that...
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Questions for Jim Glassman, senior economist at Chase Commercial Banking
Jim Glassman recently completed a whirlwind tour of Northwest cities, talking with Chase Commercial Banking clients about the current investment climate. I caught up with Glassman at JPMorgan Chase’s...
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Seattle's HomeStreet Bank sheds last regulatory order
HomeStreet bank is finally out from under its last regulatory order. The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco lifted a cease-and-desist order against the Seattle bank Tuesday, HomeStreet announced in...
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Is AmericanWest’s sweetened deal for PremierWest Bank sweet enough?
Spokane-based AmericanWest Bank has sweetened its offer to buy PremierWest Bank in an effort to attract enough PremierWest shareholders to approve the deal. The bank boards should find out if the deal...
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PremierWest Bank shareholders approve takeover by AmericanWest Bank
A majority of PremierWest Bancorp’s shareholders have agreed to a deal to sell the PremierWest Bank to Spokane-based AmericanWest Bank. AmericanWest Bank had sweetened its offer to buy PremierWest in...
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With giant historical mural, Wells Fargo hopes to connect with UW customers
Wells Fargo Bank is known for its big, historical murals. But a new mural at the bank’s branch at the University of Washington in Seattle tops them all. The giant outdoor mural wrapping around the...
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For Denali Financial Consulting, chaos is fun
Even the best-run startups can lose track of how much money they are burning through, especially if the company’s founders have been so focused on growth that they ignored their accounting books. If...
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For tiny Fortune Bank, technology is the competitive ‘equalizer’
Fortune Bank is a very small business bank, with only two offices and $144 million in assets. But it's been effective in leveraging technology to help it compete with larger banks. Last fall, Fortune...
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With tweets and Facebook 'likes,' BECU creates an old-school ad campaign
BECU is turning to old media to highlight what people are saying about the Tukwila-based credit union on social media like Facebook and Twitter. That’s the core of a new campaign BECU launched Monday...
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Chamber CEO Maud Daudon puts mayoral rumors to rest
Maud Daudon says she is committed to her job as CEO of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and will not run for mayor of Seattle. Daudon’s statement Monday puts an end to speculation that...
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Swindler Darren Berg has limited options for getting prison sentence tossed,...
Federal prosecutors say Frederick Darren Berg has “very limited” paths to having his 2011 conviction overturned for running a massive Ponzi scheme in Seattle because Berg waived his right to appeal...
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KeyBank adds jobs, expands in Seattle’s Rainier Tower for credit ‘campus’
KeyBank has leased the entire 14th floor of Rainier Tower in downtown Seattle to make room for nearly 60 employees in a new office that consolidates the bank’s credit-risk analysis and underwriting for...
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