AMCORE CEO Retiring
Kenneth E. Edge, 62, has elected to retire as CEO of AMCORE Financial Inc., based in Rockford, Ill. He will retain his role as chairman. His duties as CEO will be assumed by William R. McManaman, 60, a member of the Board since 1997, according to a news release. (2/25/08)

New Wells Fargo President Named
Fred Bertoldo has been named regional president for Wells Fargo’s Wisconsin and Michigan region, working out of the downtown Milwaukee office, reported The Business Journal of Milwaukee. Bertoldo will manage retail and business banking for the two states starting March 1. For the most part, he replaces J. Lanier "Lanny" Little, who retired from the bank earlier this month then took a job as executive vice president for First Niagara Bank in New York. Read more. (2/21/08)

Third Man Charged in Bank Failure
A third man has been charged in federal court in connection with the fraudulent loan scheme that caused the First National Bank of Blanchardville to fail in 2003. Dennis O. Said, 63, of Blanchardville, allegedly received and defaulted on $6.13 million in fraudulently obtained loans, causing a loss of more than $3.77 million to FNBB. Another man, Bryan J. Severson, 34, of Blanchardville, was sentenced to 11 years and eight months in prison for bank fraud and was ordered to repay $6.429 million to the FDIC, according to The Capital Times. (2/21/08)

M&M, Ozaukee Bank Acquisitions Approved
Chicago's Harris Bancorp Inc. and BMO Financial Group recently received all regulatory and shareholder approval for Harris' acquisitions of Ozaukee Bank and Merchants and Manufacturers Bancorporation Inc. The transactions are expected to close later this month. However, the larger bank corporation has not made public its plans for the chief executive officers and other top level executives, according to The Small Business Times of Milwaukee. Read more. (2/19/08)

Wisconsin Bankers More Cautious in Lending
Although Wisconsin bank executives say their business customers are performing well, the banks are more cautiously evaluating business lending to avoid the catastrophes plaguing some of the nation's largest banks. Attendees at the Wisconsin Bankers Association’s Bank Executives Conference said they are taking a more skeptical view of loan applicants’ sales and cash flow projections to mitigate the risk of making bad loans. Read more in The Business Journal of Milwaukee. (2/15/08)

M&I Exec Talks About Market Leadership
Doug Nelson, president of Marshall & Ilsley Bank 's Southwest Wisconsin Region, says “the major factor that contributes to that market leadership is the people that we have.” Read the complete profile in the Wisconsin State Journal. (2/10/08)

His Job is to Reach Out to City
Vincent Lyles is a quiet force in the revitalization of some of the poorest neighborhoods in Milwaukee and across the nation. Lyles, 46, is president of M&I Community Development Corp., the for-profit subsidiary of M&I Bank that invests in projects and programs that benefit lower-income residents and helps the bank meet its CRA requirements. Read more in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. (2/5/08)

Wauwatosa Savings Bank to Change Name
After more than 85 years in operation, Wauwatosa Savings Bank is asking its customers to vote on a new name. The bank invited its customers and community members to visit any of the bank’s locations and vote on three name options: Granite Bank, Security First Bank and WaterStone Bank, according to an article in the The Business Journal of Milwaukee. Read more. (2/5/08)

Sheboygan’s HSA Bank Names New CEO
D. Dean Mason, former president of Exante Bank, a large and respected player in the field of HSAs, has been named chief executive office of HSA Bank in Sheboygan. HSA Bank is a subsidiary of Webster Bank in Waterbury, Conn., and is the nation’s largest health savings account (HSA) administrator measured by total deposits (more than $500 million), according to a news release posted on CNN Money. Read more.

HSA Bank began as State Bank of Howards Grove, which developed the health savings account niche under the leadership of then-President and Chief Executive Bradley Yocum. Webster acquired Eastern Wisconsin Bancshares Inc., the parent company of State Bank of Howards Grove, in 2005. (2/4/08)

Wells Fargo Exec Accepts Position in New York
J. Lanier “Lanny” Little has been named executive vice president, consumer banking, at First Niagara Bank in Lockport, N.Y., according to a news release posted on MSN Money. Read more.

Little brings more than 35 years of banking experience to the position. At Wells Fargo in Milwaukee, he has had direct management responsibility for Wells’ community banking operations in three states as regional president for the Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan region. (2/4/08)