Banking and Finance

The economy got off to an even weaker start this year than first thought, the federal government said today, as economic activity contracted amid a disappointing trade picture and continued caution on spending by businesses …

U.S. banks are lending to businesses at such a rapid clip that those loans are on pace to overtake residential mortgages for the first time since the 1980s, the Wall Street Journal reported. Commercial and industrial loans …

Iowa banks had more than $49.6 billion in total loans at the end of the first quarter, a 9 percent increase from a year ago, the Iowa Bankers Association said today. Nationwide, total loans grew …

Ames National Corp., which operates five affiliate banks, ranked No. 119 in a recent evaluation by American Banker of public banks with up to $2 billion in assets. American Banker based its rankings on average return on …

The Creighton University Rural Mainstreet Index for May rose slightly from April’s weak reading, according to the monthly survey of bank CEOs in a 10-state region dependent on agriculture or energy.  

The overall index, based …

Financial institutions and retailers are developing a bigger appetite for Apple’s mobile payment option, and a Greater Des Moines-based payment processor is getting a slice of that business. The Members Group has now enrolled 25 …

West Bancorporation Inc. in West Des Moines ranks No. 19 in an annual listing of the top 200 publicly traded bank holding companies in the nation with assets of less than $2 billion.

The …

The Iowa Society of CPAs recognized Jim Brannen, CEO of FBL Financial Group Inc., with the Outstanding CPA in Business and Industry Award during its 2015 Annual Meeting & Leadership Conference held earlier this month …