Jim Dobbs

Indexes show heightened expectations for a recession and souring loans. But executives are upbeat about middle-market businesses and overall job growth.

Members of the American Bankers Association's Economic Advisory Committee expect gross domestic product to stall in 2023. Other surveys show a modest contraction. Lenders say sentiment among their borrowers also points to a slight slowdown.

The Pittsburgh bank posted a solid profit and said that it expects continued loan growth. But the pace of business expansion could slow alongside an economic downturn.

Dicier credit conditions, recession fears and tougher regulatory scrutiny combined to weaken merger activity in 2022. A push for scale is bound to resume when interest rates level off — at least among smaller banks, analysts say.

The Pittsburgh company's finance chief expects more gains in interest income, though he conceded rising deposit costs could curb the pace of advances.

The Pittsburgh-based parent of First National Bank of Pennsylvania plans to close its $117 million buyout of UB Bancorp in December.

Taichung Commercial Bank said it would pay $82.1 million to buy American Continental Bancorp in suburban Los Angeles.

The all-stock acquisition of Lakeland Bancorp, expected to close in the second quarter of 2023, would create a combined bank with more than $25 billion of assets.

More than 350 investors put money into Agility Bank, a de novo minority depository institution that opened in May. It raised nearly $41 million, well surpassing its $30 million goal.

The Minneapolis-based buyer had previously said the deal would close earlier in the second half. Some of the financial benefits, which had been expected to be realized next year, won't come to fruition until 2024, executives said Monday.