Welcome to 2015. Here’s the recap from my Twitter feed this week:
Trending
Welcome to the faceless future of banking http://t.co/NSHPBFZ0bq via @JeffCoxCNBCcom pic.twitter.com/R2o51rEVJN
— Jim Perry (@mi_jim) January 2, 2015
Mergers, Acquisition – Expansion, Consolidation
- MT’s Whitefish Credit Union has purchased a building in Kalispell where it will move its back-office services http://bit.ly/14hvkRN
- First Citizens BancShares completes merger of banking subsidiaries; form largest family-controlled bank in the nation http://cnnmon.ie/1zZCneU
- Hilltop Holdings, parent co. of PlainsCapital, completes acquisition of Dallas-based SWS Group http://bit.ly/1yeSSmO
- Bank of the Ozarks and Intervest Bancshares Corp. announce expected Feb. 2015 closing date for pending merger http://bit.ly/1BcUtJr
- IL’s Ottawa Savings Bank completes acquisition of Twin Oaks Savings Bank http://bit.ly/1Am6ewM
- In NJ, Highlands State Bank to consolidate Sparta area branches http://bit.ly/1zvY4Ov
- Home Federal Bank consolidating Sioux Falls branches http://bit.ly/1wAmuEf
- ViewPoint Financial Group, Inc. to complete merger w/LegacyTexas Group, Inc. on January 1, 2015 http://on.mktw.net/14c6TFb
- New Orleans-based First NBC Bank to acquire State Investors in $51M deal http://bit.ly/174uqZJ
- Illinois’ Midland States completes acquisition of St. Louis, MO’s Heartland Bank http://bit.ly/1tkxhST
- Valley National Bancorp announces sale of branch for net gain of $17.8M http://on.mktw.net/1B1HES3
- Company formed by Texas senator acquires First National Bank of Kemp http://bit.ly/1zNSige
- Glastonbury, CT’s United Financial to close five non-strategic branches in its network, cut staff http://prn.to/1txgTnK
- In Missouri, Alliance Credit Union has merged with 1st City Credit Union http://bit.ly/1AfGke7
- San Diego Private Bank completes acquisition of First Security Business Bank assets http://bit.ly/1732ZQ1
- Muskogee, OK-based Armstrong Bank has entered the Arkansas market with the planned acquisition of Benefit Bank. http://bit.ly/1tgVPMG
- As part of its continued growth, Ohio’s LCNB National Bank will acquire Brookville National Bank http://bit.ly/1wybg33
- Illinois ends 2014 w/91 fewer bank branches http://trib.in/1EAY1sO Of course that leaves the state w/4,681 branches.
- IL’s LincolnWay Community Bank opens new branch in Mokena, IL http://trib.in/1AZ7Vk1
- Tampa-based @growfinancial Credit Union continues to expand in South Carolina with the opening of a new branch http://bit.ly/1zMHGhA
- Greenfield, Northampton co-op banks seek to merge http://bit.ly/1zMHwa5
- In Oklahoma, First American Bank and First United are closer to merging in early 2015 http://bit.ly/1vmfUkz
- In NJ, Spencer Savings Bank completes its acquisition of NJM Bank http://bit.ly/1zMHr64
Branch Evolution
- California’s Exchange Bank makes over branch for 21st century http://bit.ly/1BgjKR3
- Pennsylvania leads nation in net bank-branch closings http://bit.ly/1x0oKdk
Marketing & Branding
- Capital One Kicks Off Apple Pay Promotion: “This is Your New Wallet” http://bit.ly/14c7A1f
- Don’t miss @dberkowitz‘ @adage blog: Three Seismic Threats to Marketers Hitting in 2015 http://bit.ly/1BlX1mg #mustread
- Bank Of England monitors #socialmedia indicators http://bit.ly/1BlWVLs
- The @FinancialBrand‘s @JimMarous on how banks & credit unions must improve cross-sell efforts: http://bit.ly/1A7KQu1
Mobile & Digital Transformation
- 70% of consumers under the age of 30 said they consider mobile banking to be a “must-have” http://bit.ly/1CYQnqr via @ErikSass1
- Survey shows that British consumers are willing to switch to a new bank to make mobile payments http://bit.ly/1I4kMlp
- Here we go again: Chick-fil-A investigating possible credit card breach http://bit.ly/1vPyClC
- Bitcoin service BitPay makes TV commercial debut on ESPN over the weekend http://bit.ly/13P7oEd
- KS’ Intrust Bank’s online, mobile services go dark for most of the day, yesterday http://bit.ly/1ECWsdX
Industry News
- KY’s Members Heritage to become state-chartered credit union http://bit.ly/1zvYhkD
- Reflecting on @mybanktracker‘s 2014 Banking Predictions http://huff.to/1HZZ41V
- The @FinancialBrand‘s @JimMarous underscores 1 of our primary points: customer analytics is key to growth in banking http://bit.ly/1HZYKjv
- 10 Big Ideas for Banking in 2015 from @AmerBanker http://bit.ly/1EEI8l8
- The Boston Business Journal looks at the largest Credit Unions in Massachusetts http://bit.ly/1zMHO0v
- MCUA (Missouri), KCUA (Kansas) to form consolidated association of credit unions http://bit.ly/1xsnD4J
That’s all for this week. Please share this with your colleagues. If we missed an important story, drop me a note.