Community banking

The New York-area companies' $489 million agreement runs counter to recent merger pacts built around branch cuts and more tech spending.

The deal will create an $11 billion-asset banking company with operations in a number of markets around New York City.

Business owners are changing banks at three times normal levels, a trend researchers attribute to their difficulty in obtaining emergency loans. If the forgiveness stage of the Paycheck Protection Program proves arduous, that rate could climb much higher.

Suncoast Credit Union and Apollo Bank said the pandemic complicated their efforts to secure regulatory approval.

The Small Business Administration stopped approving loans when the Paycheck Protection Program hit its cap.