Banking & Finance

Stauffer & Associates acquires Butler Robinson

Company owner sets goal to become largest locally owned practice

August 26, 2021

Liberty Lake-based accounting firm Stauffer & Associates PLLC has acquired Spokane Valley-based Butler Robinson & Associates PS. Sam Mansour, owner, partner, and

Securing financing needed for post-pandemic growth

Options remain to access funds as economy returns

August 12, 2021

TJ Brill

As the Eastern Washington economy slowly returns to pre-pandemic levels, consumers are eagerly spending on the products and services they were forced to forgo during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Divorce after 50 can add to challenges for women

Even necessary change brings financial hardship

August 12, 2021

Sarah Carlson

Divorce is difficult for everyone going through it, yet it is a necessary change toward a healthy life for many women. Divorce dramatically increased by 109% over the past 25 years among those aged 50 and older, according to Forbes.com.

Success in investing can involve more than smarts

Disciplined approach can outperform market experts

August 12, 2021

Rick Biel

Investing is an unusual endeavor in that it is entirely possible for someone with no credentials in finance to actually outperform someone who is highly trained in that world.

Washington Trust puts focus on women in leadership

Women now occupy 60% of bank's leadership roles

August 12, 2021

Kevin Blocker

With a combined 78 years of experience in the banking and finance industry, Katy Bruya, Alicia O'Mary, and Carolyn Stewart of Washington Trust Bank all say that if it's up to them, they'll never have another employer.

Financial institutions thrived in first half of 2021

Despite start, INW bankers brace for potential effects of COVID variant, inflation

August 12, 2021

Virginia Thomas

Some bank and credit union executives here say that while they're wary of the effects of the COVID-19 variants and of the threat of inflation, 2021 has so far been a year of growth in most product areas.

Banking AI in the Inland Northwest

New platform a starting point to automation of other services, systems

August 12, 2021

Natasha Nellis

Two Inland Northwest credit unions are turning to artificial intelligence to make credit and loan decisions, a move representatives say will make the process more accurate and efficient, while opening up employees to more engagement with customers.

Foundation here back to granting travel wishes

Nonprofit forced to cancel trips during pandemic; boosted other programs

July 29, 2021

Lonna Smith

March 2020 is a month that many will never forget. It was in March of 2020 that the World Health Organization declared that we were facing a pandemic outbreak called COVID-19. There were mask mandates, quarantines, and an immediate and radical change to

In planning, focus on controllables; ditch 'what ifs'

Financial management takes long-term strategy

July 29, 2021

Ben KlÃ¼ndt

There is always something to hold us back, someone telling us there's too much risk involved. We can't control the outcome enough. What if we fail? The game of 'what ifsâ€ can turn into a death spiral if we let it. Learning to control the

Retirement expectations, reality often don't align

Dollar-cost averaging can increase savings in long-term strategy

July 29, 2021

Sarah Carlson

Will your retirement dreams match your reality? That's perhaps the most critical question to ask people who are currently retired. Is your retirement what you expected, or is it something else? For more than 30 years, the Employee Benefit Research Ins