Venture capital investors put more money into Michigan-based companies last year, even as deal volume declined.

WYOMING — Workers at Lake Michigan Credit Union’s South Division Avenue branch near Grand Rapids have voted to unionize.

Investment bankers and deal advisers forecast a 2023 M&A market affected, but not necessarily stymied, by rising interest rates and other economic headwinds.

Union Home Mortgage — a retail, wholesale and consumer-direct mortgage company based in Strongsville, Ohio — has acquired Portage-based Amerifirst Home Mortgage.

TRAVERSE CITY — High Street Insurance Partners Inc. moved into the Nevada and California markets with its latest acquisition that also marks a strong dealmaking year for the firm.

PORTAGE — Amerifirst Home Mortgage plans layoffs at its Portage office early next year, citing reduced demand for home mortgages resulting from rising interest rates.

GRAND RAPIDS — Staff at Lake Michigan Credit Union’s South Division branch in Grand Rapids are seeking a vote for union representation.

GRANDVILLE — In a move to diversify revenues to support further growth, the parent corporation for Grand River Bank has formed a mortgage company to write home loans across much of the nation.

Michigan Capital Network has named new leaders for angel investing groups in Grand Rapids and Detroit.

Eric Foster credits a 2015 report from Forbes.com that ranked Grand Rapids as 51st out of 52 markets in the U.S. economically for African Americans for helping to cement his idea to create Rende Progress Capital. 

Commercial lenders head toward the end of 2022 in an uncertain economic environment with rising interest rates and predictions for a mild U.S. recession in the second half of next year.

When he began leading commercial lending at Lake Michigan Credit Union in 2011, Jim Maskell occasionally found surprise among prospective clients.

Agroup of West Michigan growers is proposing a solution to solve two problems around equity and unentitled land assets that currently affect the state’s agricultural industry. 

Talent and labor availability, inflation, and supply chain disruptions are the biggest hurdles to growth for West Michigan executives, while many plan to turn to automation and price increases to mitigate those risks.

TRAVERSE CITY — Walstrom Marine Inc., a Harbor Springs-based yacht sales and service company and marina operator acquired last year by Continuum Ventures LLC in Grand Rapids, acquired Grand Bay Marine in Traverse City.

TiiCKER Inc., a Michigan-based financial technology firm that manages direct-to-shareholder marketing platforms and perks programs for publicly traded companies, has launched a new partnership with a global movie studio.

For the next year, Huntington Bank can claim bragging rights in the Grand Rapids market after edging into the leading position for deposit market share that Fifth Third Bank has held for decades.

GRAND RAPIDS — Acrisure LLC’s latest global acquisition would help solidify the company’s footprint in the United Kingdom.

Business executives and M&A professionals in a recent survey offered cautious optimism for the market next year, despite rising interest rates and elevated expectations for a U.S. recession.

Grand Rapids-based venture capital fund Grand Ventures led a $3 million capital round for iink Payments, a Tampa, Fla.-based platform that expedites payments for property insurance claims.

GRAND RAPIDS — Kalamazoo-based Consumers Credit Union has signed a sponsorship agreement with Van Andel Arena for the naming rights to a restaurant.

GRAND RAPIDS — New capital commitments from investors give Monroe Equity Partners LLC the financial backing to pursue a market niche that’s projected to offer plenty of opportunity in the next few years.

GRAND RAPIDS — Strong interest from investors led Michigan Capital Network to expand the size of its new venture capital fund, the organization’s fourth since its inception.

A Q&A with Matt Jung, founder of Orange Dot Ventures LLC

HOLLAND — Independent Bank has opened a branch office in Holland at 12368 Riley St., off U.S.-31 near a Meijer Inc. store.

A new West Michigan private equity firm has kicked off with a pair of deals for direct-to-consumer products companies. 

KENTWOOD — Montage Inc., a provider of protection plans for residential furniture, jewelry and watches, has sold to One80 Intermediaries Inc., a Boston-based specialty insurance broker.

WALKER — Keller Ford Inc. has sold to a southeast Michigan dealership group. 

KALAMAZOO — Advia Credit Union has named longtime Chief Financial Officer Jeff Fielder as its next president and CEO.

GRAND RAPIDS — Three years after forming a fund to invest in companies needing growth capital, Charter Capital Partners LLC has begun preparing to start a larger, successor fund.