https://www.spokanejournal.com/rss en-us karinae@spokanejournal.com Olympia, Washington-based Heritage Bank has moved to a new permanent location following recent approval to operate as a full-service branch, says James Krejci, senior vice president and commercial team leader.

]]> http://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18321 Thu, 21 May 2026 03:00:00 -0400 https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18321-heritage-bank-moves-receives-branch-authority HeritageBankBranch_Map_web.jpg Spokane-based Associated Industries’ nearly 1,000 members can now access business services and products through a new partnership with Liberty Lake-based STCU.

]]> http://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18320 Thu, 21 May 2026 03:00:00 -0400 https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18320-stcu-collaborates-with-associated-industries STCU-(5)_web.jpg It's not lost on individuals, estate planning attorneys, financial advisers, and CPAs that several changes to tax laws could impact charitable giving this year.

]]> http://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18309 Thu, 21 May 2026 03:00:00 -0400 https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18309-copy-of-charitable-giving-considerations-for-2026-and-beyond Philanthropy_web.jpg karinae@spokanejournal.com Mary McDirmid, co-founder of All Needs Planning, has co-authored a book designed to help educate and empower families caring for loved ones with disabilities as they navigate the complexities of wealth management, caregiving, and long-term planning.

]]> http://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18308 Thu, 21 May 2026 03:00:00 -0400 https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18308-catching-up-with-mary-mcdirmid-all-needs-planning-chief-financial-planning-and-growth-officer Mary_McDirmid_Headshot_web.jpg Retired certified public accountant and Spokane community leader Bill Simer says his life would have looked much different had he not happened to meet a young woman and her brother in Spokane more than 50 years ago.

]]> http://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18261 Thu, 07 May 2026 03:00:00 -0400 https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18261-2026-icons-bill-simer Simer-(8)_web.jpg karinae@spokanejournal.com Phyllis Campbell, 2026 Spokane Journal of Business Icon, led an accumulative 50-year career in banking, philanthropy, and board service across the Inland Northwest and western Washington. 

]]> http://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18238 Thu, 07 May 2026 03:00:00 -0400 https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18238-2026-spokane-journal-of-business-icon-phyllis-campbell-vice-chairman-and-regional-chair-of-the-pacific-northwest-for-jpmorgan-chase Phyllis-Campbell-portrait_web.jpg karinae@spokanejournal.com A handful of companies across Eastern Washington and North Idaho have raised millions of dollars in recent months, with the majority of funding falling outside the traditional angel- or venture-backed technology, health care, and consumer industries.

]]> http://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18233 Thu, 23 Apr 2026 03:00:00 -0400 https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18233-inw-companies-raise-14m-since-january AdobeStock_1923562236_web.jpg Packard Wheeler Succession, an employee benefits and wealth planning team of Northwestern Mutual representatives based in Spokane Valley, has joined Cleveland-based Benefit Advisors Network as an independent member.

]]> http://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18228 Thu, 23 Apr 2026 03:00:00 -0400 https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18228-valley-benefits-broker-looks-to-future-growth In Spokane and across Eastern Washington, health care affordability is no longer a future concern. It's already shaping decisions that local employers are making today about jobs, growth, and compensation.

]]> http://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18165 Thu, 09 Apr 2026 03:00:00 -0400 https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18165-we-cant-afford-to-ignore-drivers-of-health-care-costs Farooq_Umar_Premera_web.jpg karinae@spokanejournal.com Fans watching the Sunday Seattle Mariners game during opening weekend might have noticed a commercial featuring the team’s All-Star catcher and switch-hitter, Cal Raleigh, as the newest, high-performing team member at Spokane-based Washington Trust Bank.

]]> http://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18161 Thu, 09 Apr 2026 03:00:00 -0400 https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18161-washington-trust-swings-for-growth-with-cal-raleigh WTB-(1)_web.jpg Spokane-based Quantum Financial Planning Inc. is growing with the acquisition of a Spokane Valley-based financial planning company and the addition of a new financial planner.

]]> http://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18160 Thu, 09 Apr 2026 03:00:00 -0400 https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18160-promotions-acquisitions-grow-quantum-financial Quantum-(4)_web.jpg Washington state is moving forward with the Washington Saves automatic individual retirement account program, with penalties for noncompliance beginning in 2030.

]]> http://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18157 Thu, 09 Apr 2026 03:00:00 -0400 https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18157-washington-saves-auto-ira-savings-program Clay-Randall-mug_web.jpg For decades, Washington state's lack of a personal income tax was one of its defining economic advantages, a feature that drew executives, entrepreneurs, and high earners across the region. That era is ending.

]]> http://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18154 Thu, 09 Apr 2026 03:00:00 -0400 https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18154-wa-millionaires-tax-impacts-on-id-businesses Collin-Kane_web.jpg Washington lawmakers have repealed a tax exemption for credit unions, disrupting a fast-growing deal market for mergers and acquisitions.

]]> http://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18150 Thu, 09 Apr 2026 03:00:00 -0400 https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18150-state-changes-tax-policy-for-credit-unions AdobeStock_1773084034_web.jpg Two credit unions — Spokane-based Progressions Credit Union and Boeing Employees’ Credit Union, of Tukwila, Washington — are building new branches in Spokane County.

]]> http://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18145 Thu, 26 Mar 2026 03:00:00 -0400 https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18145-two-new-credit-union-branches-in-works SpokaneSouthhillNFC-2_web.jpg karinae@spokanejournal.com Craft3, a nonprofit community lender that helps finance projects in underserved communities, is planning to invest between $25 million and $30 million in the Inland Northwest following an $80 million New Markets Tax Credit allocation.

]]> http://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18069 Thu, 12 Mar 2026 03:00:00 -0400 https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18069-craft3-eyes-25m-to-30m-inw-investment Jupiter's-Eye-(1)_web.jpg Dallas-based Sunflower Bank N.A. has consolidated two Spokane branches into one new licensed depository branch and is expanding into North Idaho with the opening of a new loan production office in Coeur d’Alene to meet high demand in the Inland Northwest region.  

]]> http://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18053 Thu, 12 Mar 2026 03:00:00 -0400 https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18053-sunflower-bank-expands-to-meet-growth JoshMartin_pullquote_web.jpg For most business owners in the Pacific Northwest, succession planning lives somewhere between "eventually" and "when the time comes." It sits on a list alongside other distant concerns, comfortably deferred while the immediate demands of running the business take priority. 

]]> http://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18045 Thu, 12 Mar 2026 03:00:00 -0400 https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/18045-succession-planning-designing-businesses-that-outlive-founders Gilberts_Barrouk_CombinedMug_web.jpg judiths@spokanejournal.com Amid a nationwide retirement insecurity crisis, there's a growing gap between men and women who work full-time jobs, according to a recent report by Dayforce, an international human capital management company, that shows growing disparities in how American workers are saving for retirement.

]]> http://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/17977 Thu, 12 Feb 2026 03:00:00 -0500 https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/17977-womens-participation-in-retirement-savings-decreases AdobeStock_4_web.jpg With clear priorities, experienced guidance, and a realistic game plan, you can potentially reduce uncertainty and increase your financial confidence for the years ahead.

]]> http://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/17927 Thu, 29 Jan 2026 03:00:00 -0500 https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/17927-proper-planning-can-increase-financial-confidence Sarah-Carlson_web.jpg Spokane-based Responders Emergency Services Credit Union is planning for additional growth into areas south of the Idaho Panhandle this year, after opening their first Idaho branch in 2024.

]]> http://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/17923 Thu, 29 Jan 2026 03:00:00 -0500 https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/17923-first-responder-focused-credit-union-seeks-further-idaho-expansion RESCU-(1)_web.jpg Do Washington state taxes have you thinking of moving away?

]]> http://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/17919 Thu, 29 Jan 2026 03:00:00 -0500 https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/17919-moving-out-of-state-to-avoid-washington-taxes BeauRuffweb.jpg The Spokane economy continues to emerge from a challenging post-pandemic recovery and a complicated past year. While interest rates and tariffs impacted plans for development and growth in 2025, Spokane's downtown continued to make progress, and the business community has proven resilient.

]]> http://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/17915 Thu, 29 Jan 2026 03:00:00 -0500 https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/17915-confidence-among-spokane-businesses-ticks-upward Davis_Gillum.jpg Following the sale of Ignite Northwest's Spokane Technology Center in the University District to Washington State University in September, Ignite has made a strategic decision to focus its activities exclusively on providing credit facilities to rapidly growing, emerging companies here that are “not yet bankable” and unable to secure financing from a commercial bank or credit union. 

]]> http://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/17902 Thu, 29 Jan 2026 03:00:00 -0500 https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/17902-ingite-northwest-shifts-focus Tom-Simpson_web.jpg karinae@spokanejournal.com Wealth management company Evergreen Gavekal is opening its first Spokane office on the sixth floor of the Rock Pointe Tower, just a short walk from the city’s cluster of sports venues in the North Bank neighborhood.

]]> http://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/17884 Thu, 29 Jan 2026 03:00:00 -0500 https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/17884-evergreen-gavekal-opens-spokane-wealth-management-office Swanson-(16)_web.jpg karinae@spokanejournal.com Fintech startup SecureSave has been acquired by Wisconsin-based HSA Bank, bringing the company’s emergency savings platform under the financial institution’s umbrella as a wholly-owned subsidiary.

]]> http://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/17859 Thu, 15 Jan 2026 03:00:00 -0500 https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/17859-securesave-is-acquired-by-wisconsin-based-hsa-bank SecureSave1_web.jpg tinas@spokanejournal.com At Spokane Media Credit Union, CEO Sarah Dahmen says work-life balance isn’t just a perk — it’s embedded in the institution’s mission. 

]]> http://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/17852 Thu, 15 Jan 2026 03:00:00 -0500 https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/17852-work-built-around-life-at-spokane-media-credit-union Media-(14)_web.jpg karinae@spokanejournal.com Liberty Lake-based Spokane Teachers Credit Union is rolling out the new year with the opening of a new branch and an announcement about two future branches across Spokane and Coeur d’Alene.

]]> http://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/17843 Tue, 06 Jan 2026 08:58:51 -0500 https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/17843-stcu-opens-mt-spokane-branch-announces-two-more Mt-Spokane.JPG karinae@spokanejournal.com As financial institutions look ahead to 2026, Inland Northwest banking leaders say the industry enters the new year with cautious optimism, steady deposit growth, and persistent affordability challenges that continue to shape the behavior of members and customers.

]]> http://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/17785 Thu, 18 Dec 2025 03:00:00 -0500 https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/17785-banking-industry-cautiously-optimistic-looking-at-2026 Swensied_pullquote_26.jpg Congratulations to the Spokane Journal of Business on 40 years of exceptional business reporting. While I’m not necessarily thrilled to admit I have worked through the evolution of the financial industry in the region for the last 40 years, it’s been exciting to be a part of and see our industry grow and evolve. Many of the areas the industry has changed in the last four decades will continue, albeit in different ways.

]]> http://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/17782 Thu, 18 Dec 2025 03:00:00 -0500 https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/17782-same-mission-amidst-continued-evolution Jack-Heath_web.jpg