GRAND RAPIDS — Steady growth led Mercantile Bank Corp. to proceed with an addition at its corporate headquarters. Rising on the south side of the headquarters building at Leonard Street and U.S. 131 in Grand Rapids, the three-story, 25,000-square-foot addition will enable Mercantile Bank to bring together commercial banking teams and support staff — lenders, treasury and credit analysts — at one location.

Mercantile Bank Corp. recorded strong earnings and loan growth to end 2018, a trend executives expect should continue into 2019.

The Michigan Strategic Fund steered additional money into two capital funds that support high-tech startups and growing small businesses in the state.

The Invest Michigan Pre-Seed Fund II received $3 million to invest in startups through loans or equity. Grow Michigan LLC will receive $9.6 million for a second mezzanine-style fund that will provide loans to growing small businesses.

Mercantile Bank Corp. grew third quarter earnings by more than 20 percent compared to a year ago.

Despite strong business optimism and continued economic expansion, bankers say they still see their West Michigan business clients taking a cautious approach to debt.

John Donnelly considers Independent Bank Corp.’s proposed $63.1 million deal to buy Traverse City-based TCSB Bancorp Inc. as indicative of the bank mergers likely to occur in Michigan next year.

The further the U.S. gets from the last downturn, the greater the likelihood that another challenge will eventually “rear its head again,” says Mercantile Bank Corp. President and CEO Robert Kaminski. Yet as 2018 approaches, Kaminski doesn’t see any warnings signs from the Grand Rapids-based bank’s clients that portend a downturn is imminent. Instead, he expects the U.S. economy to stay on track.

Many of the forces that affected banks in 2017 — from rising interest rates and a good economy, to balancing digital technology investments with cybersecurity — remain the top issues bankers must manage in the year ahead.

Mercantile Bank Corp. today reported higher quarterly earnings.

GRAND RAPIDS — Citing demand for more diverse housing products, developers cautiously have started exploring whether to market new condominiums for sale in Grand Rapids’ downtown district.