Like just about everything else, the world of angel investing got turned upside down by COVID-19. Nineteen months into the pandemic, though, Traverse City’s own Northern Michigan Angels (NMA) has quietly found its groove. The organization has not only bounced back from a down year of...
There have been a few changes shaking the Grand Traverse area banking scene this year, but none bigger than Huntington Bancshares Inc.’s blockbuster merger with TCF Financial Corp. Columbus-based Huntington has had a strong presence locally, but its recent merger with TCF has vaulted it to...
The topic of environmentally, socially and governmentally responsible (ESG) investing has increasingly become a point of discussion for financial planning ...
It wasn’t so long ago that growing, buying, selling and using marijuana could land you a lengthy prison sentence. But Michigan voters decided that wasn’t cool and passed initiatives legalizing medical and adult-use recreational marijuana, one of 44 states that allow some type of cannabis use. Recreational...
What does the future of banking look like? It’s a timely question to ask in the wake of COVID-19, which pushed a rapid adoption of already-growing digital banking trends, tools and platforms. As vaccination rates rise, as restrictions lift, and as the pandemic recedes further into...
Online casino gaming and sports betting have exploded in Michigan, leading to fears by banks and credit unions that problem gambling could ruin customers’ financial lives and affect their own bottom lines. One Michigan credit union has gone so far as to prohibit its members from...
COVID-19 changed the way banks and credit unions operated, shifting many branch services to online platforms. But the pandemic didn’t stop some from moving to brick-and-mortar expansions and, in one case, undertaking a major merger. The big news roiling the local banking scene was Columbus, Ohio-based...
Record December 2020 home sales in the Grand Traverse area tipped total sales figures over $1 billion, setting records for both number of homes sold in a single year (3,455 homes) and total single-year sales value ($1,220, 513,667). Factors like people relocating to northern Michigan and...
As a mortgage lender, my job is largely contingent upon the state of the real estate industry. So, when I had conversations with real estate agents about what 2020 might look like, I was concerned too. In the early days of the pandemic, Michigan’s real estate...
Early last spring, TBA Credit Union was averaging about $65,000 a month in deposits from unemployment benefits. Between April and August, that number jumped to $3 million a month as thousands of newly laid-off people deposited their jobless benefits. Overall, TBA deposits are up 20% as of...
