Banking & Finance

Firefighters Credit Union's growth smolders

Firefighters CU focuses on consumer loans for its 2,000-some members

April 24, 2014

Founded in 1934, the Spokane Firefighters Credit Union is celebrating 80 years in business this year, serving more than 2,000 area firefighters and their families, says Todd Powell, CEO for the past 10 years and a full-time firefighter with the city of Sp

SNAP Financial Access opens Women's Business Center

Program will offer planning assistance, training classes

April 24, 2014

Katie Ross

SNAP Financial Access has launched a Women's Business Center here that's intended to be a resource for female business owners or women who want to start a business, says Laurie Roth, manager of the center. The center opened earlier this month in the

Umpqua Bank has changes in 'store'

Bank espouses commitment to community, to roll out its retail brand

April 24, 2014

Mike McLean

Portland-based Umpqua Holdings Corp. now is operating Spokane-founded Sterling Bank under the Umpqua Bank name following a shareholder-approved acquisition that cleared its last regulatory hurdle Friday, April 18. Umpqua has started changing out Sterl

Inland Power reports rise in net margins for 2013

Inland enacted 4.5 percent rate hike earlier this month

April 10, 2014

Judith Spitzer

Inland Power & Light Co., the Spokane-based electric cooperative, has posted net margins of $3.8 million for 2013, up from $2.1 million in 2012. Also, as it had indicated previously, the cooperative implemented a 4.5 percent rate increase as of the begi

Inland Northwest stock index rises slightly in first quarter

Market cap, however, declines during period

April 10, 2014

Judith Spitzer

Hart Capital Management Inc., a Spokane-based investment firm, says the stock value of 14 publicly traded Inland Northwest companies, as measured in an overall index it compiles, rose 0.5 percent percent in the first quarter of 2014, lagging behind the St

Umpqua's acquisition of Sterling Financial receives regulatory approval

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April 1, 2014

Linn Parish

Umpqua Holdings Corp., of Portland, announced this morning that it has received all regulatory approvals for its proposed acquisition of Spokane-based Sterling Financial Corp., the parent company of Sterling Bank. The regulatory nod follows the previou

Intent, planning said keys to philanthropy strategies

Donors can 'do well while doing good,' experts say

March 13, 2014

Linn Parish

While the financial-planning sector is chock-full of rules of thumb and industry-accepted guidelines, developing a charitable-giving strategy is one area with too many variables for a legitimate broad-brushed approach to work, experts say. Veteran fina

Five errors to avoid when managing financial assets

Logic faults occur across investors' demographics

March 13, 2014

Michael Maehl

After more than four decades of helping investors around the country manage their financial assets, there are a few observations I've made over that time that apply across the whole spectrum of investors, without regard to age, income, education, or any

CFA Society dinner slated for tonight downtown

Investment group brings in industry veterans for keynote

March 13, 2014

Staff Report

The CFA Society of Spokane, an organization of financial analysts, portfolio managers, and other investment professionals, has slated two industry veterans to speak at its 20th annual Economic Forecast Dinner tonight at the Davenport Hotel. A reception

Inland Northwest Lighthouse nearly set to expand

Work wrapping up on addition to nonprofit's North Side plant

March 13, 2014

Treva Lind

Nonprofit Inland Northwest Lighthouse, which operates a manufacturing facility in North Spokane where it employs nearly 50 people, soon will start using a major expansion of its building there that it says will enable it to expand its workforce. Baker