In brief: Parent companies of Inland Northwest Bank, Bank of Fairfield agree to merger

The parent company of Inland Northwest Bank has agreed to acquire the Bank of Fairfield’s parent company for $20.75 million cash.

Northwest Bancorp. Inc., based in Spokane, signed the deal with Fairfield Financial Holdings Corp., based in Fairfield.

If the deal is approved by regulators and Bank of Fairfield shareholders, the merged banks would have assets of about $600 million and 18 branches in Eastern Washington and North Idaho.

INB is interested in the Bank of Fairfield’s agricultural lending expertise, the two financial institutions said in a news release.

“Bank of Fairfield has served the Palouse Region for over 100 years and we have a deep respect for their organization,” Randy Fewel, president and CEO of Northwest Bancorp., said in the release.

Both bank boards have approved the transaction, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

Couples don’t talk money

Many couples don’t talk enough about financial fundamentals, such as how much they earn or their plans for retirement, a new study found.

Most of the couples in the study, released Wednesday by Fidelity Investments, said they believed they communicate well. But 43 percent failed to correctly identify how much their significant other earns. Some couples were off by $25,000 or more.

Nearly half of the couples said they had “no idea” or were in disagreement about how much they would need to save to maintain their current lifestyle in retirement.

With regard to Social Security benefits, 60 percent were either unsure or didn’t know what amount they would receive. Half of the couples surveyed had disagreements on what age to retire, up from 43 percent in previous surveys.

“We are taught as people to not bring up financial issues, so it’s certainly understandable that people don’t have as much comfort talking about it,” said John Sweeney, executive vice president of retirement and investing strategies at Fidelity.

“But just like couples talk about other intimate details about a relationship, this is one of those intimate details couples should feel confident discussing with their spouse.”

Jeep Cherokees recalled

DETROIT – Fiat Chrysler is recalling 164,000 Jeep Cherokee SUVs worldwide to install shields that stop water from getting into the power rear lift gate controls.

The company said the recall covers the 2014 and 2015 model years. It addresses a problem that could cause a fire.

Fiat Chrysler said it learned of one fire and found that water can get into the lift gate control modules on some Cherokees and cause an electrical short. No injuries have been reported.

Salad dressing mislabled

The makers of Wish-Bone salad dressing have voluntarily recalled a limited quantity of Wish-Bone Ranch Salad Dressing because the bottles contain blue cheese salad dressing instead.

New Jersey-based Pinnacle Food Group said Wednesday that a customer brought to their attention that a 24-ounce bottle of Wish-Bone Ranch Salad Dressing was inadvertently packed with Blue Cheese dressing, which contains an egg allergen. The affected bottles have a UPC Code 0-41321-00661-6 and a “best used by” date of Feb. 17, 2016. No illnesses have been reported as a result, the company said.

The company said affected distributors and retailers will be notified to pull the product from shelves. Consumers who bought the dressing should call (888) 299-7646 for a refund.