Stocks continue plunge as investors fear global turmoil
U.S. stocks fell in midday trading Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing more than 300 points, as investors shunned risk worldwide.
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Former Indy developer going back to prison for a year
Sydney "Jack" Williams, whose fortunes turned after he got mixed up in a $930 million Ponzi scheme, received the sentence Monday after pleading guilty to scheming with his wife to hide bank withdrawals before his 2010 bankruptcy.
Hoosier banks put bad-loan woes in rearview mirror
Indiana-based banks have been spending less and less writing off bad loans over the past several years, a trend that suggests they’ve cleaned up their loan portfolios and might be willing to increase their appetite for risk.
Bill would weaken protections for homeowners in foreclosure
Banks support proposed state legislation that could prevent Hoosier homeowners from using a settlement process to avoid foreclosure. But the sponsor of a bill with the controversial provision says he will strike it.
Old National to acquire Anchor BanCorp Wisconsin
Evansville-based Old National Bank said it will purchase Anchor, the third largest bank in Wisconsin, in a stock-and-cash deal valued at $461 million.
After legal delay, First Merchants set to close Ameriana buyout
The Muncie-based bank, which agreed to purchase New Castle-based Ameriana in June, had faced two shareholder lawsuits opposing the deal. Those lawsuits have been dropped.
Lender discrimination might be bankrupting black churches
Of the 654 congregations to file for bankruptcy protection between 2006 and 2013, 60 percent had black pastors or predominantly black membership, according to an associate professor at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law.
Stocks soar after Federal Reserve raises key interest rate
Shortly after the Fed's announcement, major banks began announcing that they were raising their prime lending rate from 3.25 percent to 3.50 percent. The prime rate is a benchmark for some types of consumer loans such as home equity loans.
Federal Reserve finally lifts key interest rate from near zero
The U.S. Federal Reserve is raising interest rates after seven years of record lows. But it's signaling that further rate hikes will likely be made slowly as the economy strengthens further and muted inflation rises.
Fed betting it will avoid central banks’ errors of the past
The U.S. Federal Reserve is poised to raise interest rates Wednesday for the first time in 9-1/2 years. It may not take long to know whether its decision was correct. History is filled with cases when central banks raised rates prematurely, sometimes with dire consequences.
Main Street’s muni-market fight with Fed gains force in Congress
Main Street and Wall Street are fighting the U.S. Federal Reserve over municipal bonds—and they’re gaining ground.
Ex-Colt Freeney OK’d to pursue fraud claims against BofA
Former Indianapolis Colts player Dwight Freeney can proceed with his lawsuit alleging that Bank of America Corp. was complicit in a fraud scheme that caused him to lose more than $20 million, a judge ruled.
Fed’s Bullard says investors should prepare for uncertainty
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said the Fed is “going to return to an era where there is a bit more uncertainty about what the committee is going to do, meeting to meeting.”
Sale might provide salvation for Stonegate investors
After a rocky two years as a public company, perhaps the best path forward for Stonegate Mortgage Corp.—now that the board has given the company’s CEO and founder his walking papers—is to pull the rip cord and sell the business.
Frankfort bank CEO dies after battle with cancer
Karen Miller, CEO of The Farmers Bank of Frankfort, died Nov. 6 after a two-year battle with cancer. She was 60.
Outside banks nab deposits in Indy
Several out-of-town community banks have launched a full-court press on Indianapolis over the past decade and are seeing solid traction. Experts say they’re coming here because per-capita income and populations in their own back yards are growing more slowly and, in some cases, even declining.
Bank loan activity rising, but small-biz lending lagging
According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., at the end of 2008 Indiana financial institutions had $4.6 billion in small-business loans on the books that originated for less than $1 million. That figure stood at $3.8 billion this past June, about 17 percent lower.
Fed’s most powerful trio keeps December rate rise on table
Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen and New York Fed President William Dudley said the central bank could boost interest rates as soon as next month, while Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer voiced confidence that inflation isn’t too far below the goal.
First Internet continues run of profit increases
First Internet Bancorp, the parent of First Internet Bank, has seen its stock rise 91 percent since the beginning of the year.
Ameriana shareholders set to vote on merger
Muncie-based First Merchants Corp. is to acquire Ameriana for $69 million under the deal.