Cap Markets

When Access National decided it wanted to buy Middleburg Financial in Virginia, it also wanted to talk to David Sokol, a major investor in Middleburg. It is an eye-catching example of how lone investors can control the outcome of community bank deals.

Hancock Holding in Gulfport, Miss., is selling up to 5.75 million shares of common stock, in part to support potential acquisitions.

The $22 billion-asset company said in a press release Thursday that it is looking to sell 8.4 million shares of common stock, though it could sell another 840,000 shares if there is enough demand.

A dozen publicly traded banks have raised more than $1 billion in recent weeks, taking advantage of surging stock prices. Additional banks are expected to follow, setting the stage for more M&A and other growth moves.

First Bancshares in Hattiesburg, Miss., has exited the Troubled Asset Relief Program, thanks partly to an assist from another bank.

The $3.5 billion-asset company submitted a shelf registration that lets it sell common stock, preferred stock, debt securities and warrants, among other things.

The veteran banker, who is taking the nonexecutive chairman post at Republic First Bancorp in Philadelphia after a long hiatus from the U.S. market, stands by the model he pioneered at Commerce despite a much-changed environment.

And that was only the beginning. Bank CEOs speaking in New York provided a long list of financial reforms that they would like to see under the incoming Trump administration.

Banks in Texas and Washington are joining the growing list of financial institutions selling common stock.

Union Bankshares in Richmond, Va., has sold $150 million in subordinated notes. The $8.2 billion-asset company said in a press release Monday that the notes will initially bear an annual fixed interest rate of 5%.