Quarterly Market Review: Q1 2022 By: Paul Dickson, Director of Research and Mark Stevens, Chief Investment Officer The Reemergence of Risk If there was one overarching theme to the first quarter of this year, it was that risks, which seemed vanquished in an earlier era, have returned to plague us...

March 14, 2022 – Illinois Bank & Trust, a division of HTLF Bank, through its parent company, Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ: HTLF), has been named a “Forbes Best Bank 2022.” In its annual review of the largest publicly traded banks and thrifts, Forbes ranked Heartland 28th among a nationwide group of 100 leading banking...

Cryptocurrency (crypto) has been growing in popularity for some time. Last year crypto, defined as the class of digital assets you can spend and invest, reached a milestone. Bitcoin, the best-known crypto, had the highest investment return of any asset class in 2021, outpacing the stock market, real...

Quarterly Market Review: Q4 2021 By: Paul Dickson, Director of Research and Mark Stevens, Chief Investment Officer Shifting Gears Even as the pandemic continues to delay a full normalization of the global economy, the exit from emergency support has begun. Most fiscal and administrative efforts have...

Consumers are demanding streamlined, hassle-free payment solutions both online and in person. As consumers increasingly pay less with cash, businesses are turning to an increasing mix of emerging payment solutions to maintain growth. For the most part, consumer preferences are shifting toward mobile...

Even as Covid-19 infections caused by the delta variant continue to rise in some areas of the country, economic activity continues to increase. Consumer spending rose at an annualized rate of 11.8 percent in the second quarter, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Payroll employment...

As more economic stimulus has been poured into the economy over the last year in an attempt to stave off the worst effects of the pandemic, an increasing number of economic professionals have warned against a coming spike in inflation. While the United States historically has had a low overall rate...

Location to become new home of Illinois Bank & Trust Galena, IL – April 23, 2021 – Illinois Bank & Trust (IBT) and The Galena Gazette announced the pending purchase by IBT of the property at 716 S. Bench Street in Galena. As previously announced, the sale of IBT’s property at 971 Gear Street to the...

February 8, 2021 – Illinois Bank & Trust, a division of HTLF Bank, through its parent company, Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ: HTLF), has been named a “Forbes Best Bank 2021.” Heartland is the only bank headquartered in Iowa to receive the prestigious recognition from Forbes, again this year. In its annual review of the...

Illinois Bank & Trust has established a victims’ relief fund to provide direct financial assistance to the families of those killed and the individuals injured in the tragic shooting incident at Don Carter Lanes in Rockford. Rockford, IL – December 28, 2020 – The bank announced it has established...

Sale of Gear Street building provides opportunity to assess customer needs and preferences to build towards the future. November 10, 2020, Galena, IL – With the pending sale of Illinois Bank & Trust’s (IB&T) bank property at 971 Gear Street to the Galena Center for the Arts (The Center), IB&T has...

Illinois Bank & Trust, a division of HTLF Bank announced today that it will donate $20,000 to school on World Teachers’ Day. Phoenix, AZ – October 5, 2020 – Illinois Bank & Trust, a division of HTLF Bank, a member of Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ: HTLF), announced today that it will donate $20,000 to Academy of Math and Science – Camelback on World...