Banking & Finance

Cash used to be king, but most diners now pay their bill with a credit or debit card, and restaurateurs told lawmakers Monday that the habit is squeezing their already-thin profit margins.

As a kid growing up in Worcester, Seth Pitts didn’t dream of leading a bank. He will do just that when he is promoted to be the next CEO of Worcester institution Bay State Savings Bank.

The statewide unemployment rate in Massachusetts remained low in June, dropping by two-tenths of a percentage point since May.

Littleton-based Workers Credit Union is launching a construction initiative, updating 11 of the credit union’s 18 locations over the next few years.

GFA Federal Credit Union in Gardner named veteran executive John Knierim as its new executive vice president and chief financial officer.

Worcester Business Journal has published its Book of Lists, the annual publication and directory full of the main movers and shakers in the Central Massachusetts business community.

New York real estate investment company Rabina obtained $13.5 million to refinance its 210,000-square-foot distribution center at 26 Millbury St. in Auburn.

The second-largest credit union in Central Massachusetts, Littleton’s Workers Credit Union, will have a new leader, as longtime President and CEO Doug Petersen retired on Friday.

Pittsfield-based Berkshire Bank will permanently close two Central Massachusetts branches in Westborough and Marlborough, according to the June 30 activity report by the Massachusetts Division of Banks and Board of Bank Incorporation.

Amid uncertainty about a future recession, a pause in interest rate hikes, and a continuing tight labor market, Central Massachusetts business leaders turned pessimistic in June.