Banking & Finance

Canton, Ohio-based LEL Operating Company, the parent company of Superior Dairy Inc., has submitted a $5.5 million bid on the now-shuttered Golden Guernsey Dairy Plant in Waukesha, according to company trustee Charlie Stanziale Jr.

Glendale-based Johnson Controls Inc. is considering a divestiture of its automotive electronics business.

Racine-based Johnson Financial Group announced the appointment of Todd Shaffer as chief risk officer for the company.

BMO Private Bank announced today it has hired Peter Koleske as vice president and private banker in Milwaukee.

Milwaukee-based Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. held an initial public offering this morning with shares priced at $30 on the New York Stock Exchange. The share price quickly rose to $36.

Glendale-based Braeger Auto Finance Group LLC is providing financing to automotive dealers focusing on low-income and minority consumers who do not qualify for traditional auto financing.

The Wisconsin economy is expanding at a moderate pace, but has struggled to gather any sustained momentum given cooling factory activity, according to the State Monitor report released by BMO Capital Markets Economics.

U.S. Bank committed more than $17.5 million in construction debt and tax credit equity for the development of a new residential complex, the Maria Linden Independent Senior and Assisted Living Apartments in Milwaukee.

Wisconsin banks reported net income of $839 million in the fourth quarter of 2012, up dramatically from $488 million in fourth quarter 2011, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s Quarterly Banking Profile.

Waterstone Mortgage Corp. is expanding into the greater Milwaukee area with a new office in West Allis.