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The opening of a downtown Grand Rapids office reflects a new growth strategy that will see West Michigan Community Bank further expand its branch network in the next few years. New locations are possible for the small Hudsonville-based bank in both the Holland area and along the M-6 and M-21 corridors in southern Kent County, President and CEO Phil Koning said.

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Michigan small business owners are optimistic, according to a first-ever statewide business survey from PNC Financial Group.

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MICHIGAN — Huntington Bank says it’s surpassed the $1 billion mark and is well ahead of schedule toward lending $2 billion to small and mid-sized businesses in Michigan through a lending commitment made nearly a year ago.

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KALAMAZOO — Paul DeVries, who played college football for Western Michigan University two decades ago, has turned to an online “crowdfunding” campaign in hopes of raising $20,000 to underwrite the further development costs for his computer game.

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MICHIGAN — The Michigan Economic Development Corp. doesn’t want to be in the business of picking winners and losers, but it’s hoping a new venture match fund will provide a market-driven program aimed at filling a funding gap for early-stage companies.

The Pure Michigan Venture Match Fund, which was expected to be approved by the Michigan Strategic Fund as MiBiz went to press, is designed to have the state match funding from venture capital firms for investments in early-stage companies.

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WEST MICHIGAN — What started as a niche opportunity when credit tightened during the tough economy has become a target of greater focus for United Federal Credit Union.

After growing commercial lending 35 percent during 2011 as it ramped up commercial lending, the St. Joseph-based United Federal is putting more emphasis in 2012 on making loans to members who own a small business.

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The names have surely not remained the same over the years on the West Michigan banking market. Consolidation and the rise of new banks have altered the ranks across the region. Here’s a look at the top 10 banks in six metropolitan statistical areas of West Michigan for 2011, based on deposit market share and compared to 2000 and 1995, when the last period of mergers and acquisitions was just beginning:

Click here for PDF: Top West Michigan Banks

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As the banking industry enters another era of mergers and acquisitions, Michigan credit unions continue the steady consolidation trend that has been occurring for more than a decade, though at a slightly slower rate the last two years.

Overall, there were 10 mergers in Michigan in 2011 involving state and federally chartered credits unions, versus 11 each in 2010 and 2009 and an average of 13 annually between 1990 and 2011, according to the Michigan Credit Union League.

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WEST MICHIGAN — The small community bank may very well go extinct as the banking industry reacts to recent changes in federal regulations.

Bankers and industry experts cite the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act — the largest overhaul of the nation’s banking regulations in decades, passed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis — as a key driver of the expected increase in merger-and-acquisition activity in the coming years.

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GRANDVILLE — Pat Gill returns to the banking scene in West Michigan as Grand River Bank begins moving beyond its startup phase.

Gill, who led the former Byron Bank prior to its acquisition by Chemical Bank nearly two years ago, joined Grand River Bank on Feb. 1 as president and CEO.

He leads day-to-day operations of Grand River Bank, which opened nearly three years ago in Grandville and has since grown steadily, despite the tough financial times.