Spokane’s financial planning industry is showing resilience as firms, educators, and professional organizations develop new strategies to attract and retain new people in the field.

Gesa Credit Union is expanding into Oregon for the first time through an agreement to acquire Salem, Oregon-based Willamette Valley Bank — a move Keven Gray, Gesa Credit Union chief retail officer, says will strengthen service for members while extending the cooperative financial institution's footprint along the Interstate 5 corridor. 

Coeur d'Alene-based Idaho Strategic Resources Inc. is drawing attention from technology and aerospace manufacturers looking for a domestic supply of yttrium, one of the world's most strategically important rare earth elements.