A breakdown of M&A announcements in the financial services industry for the week ended Sept. 7.

Capital Bank Financial in Coral Gables, Fla., has gone more than a year since its last acquisition — a common problem for M&A-minded banks these days. Its leaders urged shareholders to be patient in a sales pitch that other execs in the same bind could learn from.

JPMorgan Chase said it would stop accepting commissions from Assurant under a settlement reached Friday. The two firms have also agreed to pay up to $300 million to resolve allegations that they overbilled homeowners.

Umpqua Holdings, Oregon's biggest bank, is in advanced talks to buy Sterling Financial, the lender backed by Warburg Pincus and Thomas H. Lee Partners, said people with knowledge of the discussions.

TAMPA, Fla. – Fast-growing Grow Financial FCU announced today it is opening its first out-of-state branch this fall in Columbia, S.C., the first of 15 branches the $1.9 billion credit union plans for South Carolina.

Buttercoin wanted to be a Bitcoin exchange, but after being discouraged or outright rejected by over 76 financial institutions, it chose a different path.

Rising mortgage rates probably won't slow the housing recovery because new families are being created and homes are still affordable, Wells Fargo Chief Financial Officer Tim Sloan said.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta has approved two Atlantic Coast Financial (ACFC) board nominees proposed by dissident investor Jay Sidhu.

JPMorgan Chase plans to elect two board members to replace the much-criticized directors who stepped down in July.

Reform of housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac gained surprising momentum in recent months. But it's at risk of grinding to a halt as the Capitol Hill is consumed with Syria and the confirmation of a new Federal Reserve chairman. American Banker editors discuss the prospects for GSE legislation amid a packed and contentious legislative agenda.

The current bank M&A market is too hostile for Royal Bank of Scotland to consider completely selling off its U.S. subsidiary, the incoming chief executive of that unit says.

Congress must create mechanisms to dampen the volatility of housing finance, writes James Lockhart, the former regulator for Fannie and Freddie, on the fifth anniversary of their takeover by the government.

Aspire FCU call center staff can tell if they are having a good day by the looks on their faces-which they can see from the mirrors in each of their cubicles.

One credit union has found success using remote controlled drones to highlight branch locations and promote the credit union.

Wilshire Bancorp in Los Angeles said Monday that it had hired Jung Hak Son as its chief marketing officer, a position he took over in 2009.

DETROIT — NCUA said this afternoon the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services liquidated Craftsman CU and appointed the federal credit union agency as liquidating agent for the one-time $44 million auto workers credit union, the year's 12th failure.

California's legislature has voted to reform a money-transmission law that has come under fire for stymying payments innovation.

Independent Bank Corp. (INDB) and its commercial banking unit, Rockland Trust Co., announced a number of management changes Friday.

A bankruptcy judge's decision to lower breakup fees in the auction of Metropolitan National gives Simmons First and others a chance at unseating stalking horse Ford Financial. The results could encourage more interest in bidding for bank units of bankrupt holding companies.

Consumers are overdrawing their checking accounts an average of seven times per year, down from a peak of nearly 10 overdrafts annually four years ago.