Sterling Financial

The tracking index for 15 publicly traded Inland Northwest companies ended a good year with a mild dip in the fourth quarter. The Hart Capital Inland Northwest Index lost 3.2 percent in total value during 2012’s fourth quarter.

Spokane’s Sterling Savings Bank has agreed to buy the Puget Sound-area operations of publicly traded Boston Private Financial Holdings Inc. Boston Private, a national financial services group that owns wealth management and private bank affiliates in Boston, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, has operated three branches in the Seattle area. The company acquired branches in Seattle, Bellevue and Redmond in 2007 from financially distressed Charter Bank.

Sterling to acquire three branches of Boston Private in Puget Sound

Inland Northwest companies had a strong quarter from July through September. The Hart Capital Inland Northwest Index grew 14.3 percent in the third quarter. That’s dramatically better than the S&P 500 and the Russell 2000 indexes, which grew 5.8 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively.

Heidi Stanley's discrimination lawsuit against Sterling Bank is still active

The U.S. Treasury on Wednesday priced the sale of more than 5 million shares of Sterling Financial Corp. stock, which would net about $113 million in repayment for Troubled Asset Relief Program money the bank received in 2008. A news release said Treasury officials priced 5,738,637 common shares at $20 each and expect to close the sale on Aug. 20.

Sterling Savings Bank will take over the vacant sixth floor of the downtown Spokane Crescent Court office building next month. Sterling will use the space to consolidate some of its downtown workforce. It will sublease nearly 24,100 square feet currently leased by the U.S. Postal Service, which moved out of the Crescent building in 2009.

Sterling Savings Bank will take over the vacant sixth floor of the downtown Spokane Crescent Court office building next month.