Banking

The financial giant has exited a Northside Richmond neighborhood, leaving its real estate — and the banking market in that part of town — up for grabs.

The institution is developing programs for Amazon Echo devices that allow readers to check branch wait times and up-to-date interest rates.

The deal, valued around $29 million, created a combined $800 million institution that is relocating its combined headquarters to Richmond’s West End.

A local bank’s fourth quarter performance helped it leap up yet another notch in the eyes of a well-known financial institution rating firm, while the Richmond market reached a rating level not seen since before the economic downturn.

The latest in a string of local bank mergers has received the blessing of state and federal regulators, and is primed for a summertime closing date.

The bank’s property, along a stretch of Patterson Avenue that in recent years has become a mini-bankers’ row, is up for grabs.

The Richmond arm of a Hampton Roads-based bank has opened its latest local branch, while a recent land deal in Chesterfield offers a glimpse at its next step for expansion.

Another local finance veteran is betting on the upside of the pending combination of Bank of Lancaster and Virginia Commonwealth Bank.

With their marriage set for April Fool’s Day, two banks from Petersburg and Kilmarnock have found a place to settle down together in Richmond.

A local bank merger now has a clear path to the closing table, in a deal that would create a combined $800 million institution.