* Kansas City Federal Reserve President Esther George said the current stretch of low inflation is, by itself, not a reason to ease monetary policy. She said deviations of as much as one percentage point from the Fed's 2% inflation target should be tolerated, "depending on broader economic conditions," Reuters reported.
* On the M&A scene, McFarland State Bank and Oregon Community Bank, both based in Wisconsin, have agreed to merge. Expected to close in the first quarter of 2020, the transaction will create a community bank with more than $1.1 billion in assets.
* Sterling National Bank, a unit of Sterling Bancorp, will be acquiring about $843 million of middle-market commercial equipment finance loans and leases from Santander Bank. Completion of the deal is expected to occur in the fourth quarter.
* In the credit union space, Warren, Mich.-based Bi-County PTC FCU is set to merge with Battle Creek, Mich.-based BlueOx CU following approval of Bi-County PTC FCU members. The transaction is expected to take effect Jan. 1, 2020.
* P&C insurer Arch Capital Group is expecting pretax losses of about $65 million to $75 million, net of reinsurance recoveries and reinstatement premiums, from catastrophic events during the third quarter.
* Consumer delinquencies in eight of the 11 loan categories tracked by the American Bankers Association rose in the second quarter, according to the ABA's latest consumer credit delinquency bulletin.
* A Goldman Sachs analysis found only "weak evidence" supporting the idea that President Donald Trump's tweets criticizing the Federal Reserve impact the market's monetary policy expectations, Bloomberg News reported, citing a note by Goldman Sachs economist Ronnie Walker. In contrast, the analysis found a "statistically significant link" between Trump's trade-related tweets and market expectations for Fed policy.
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