Dwight Utz, who is leaving VantageSouth in North Carolina five months after it bought his bank, says he is looking for CEO jobs Virginia, Maryland or Pennsylvania.

Bill Heffernan has done it all over four decades in Miami banking, and has even been a mayor of a small town. Now, as a new board member of Apollo Bank, he'll advise the community bank on growth strategies.

The Federal Reserve Board has given Valley National Bancorp in Wayne, N.J., approval to redeem $127.5 million of trust-preferred securities.

State Bank Financial Corp. in Atlanta has named a new credit guru.

Heartland Financial (HTLF) in Dubuque, Iowa, plans to raise up to $75 million.

Prosperity Bancshares in Houston has agreed to buy F&M Bancorp in Tulsa, Okla.

GNB Financial in Gratz, Pa., has agreed to buy Liberty Centre Bancorp in Pottsville, Pa.

VantageSouth Bancshares in Raleigh, N.C., announced that its president will resign.

CresCom Bank in Myrtle Beach, S.C., has agreed to buy a branch from First Carolina Bancshares in Waterboro, S.C.

Traditional bank M&A in Georgia has been nearly dead in recent years, but Hamilton State Bancshares' deal this week to buy Cherokee Banking suggests that the Peach State may be primed for consolidation.

Heartland Financial in Dubuque, Iowa, has hired a chief financial officer.

The investor group that plans to recapitalize U.S. Century Bank in Doral, Fla., has reportedly revised its offer to give a larger stake to preexisting shareholders.

First Citizens Bancshares in Raleigh, N.C., has agreed to buy 1st Financial Services in Hendersonville, N.C.

Independence Federal Savings Bank (IFSB) in Washington, D.C., is taking a second shot at buying Colombo Bancshares in Rockville, Md., three years after the companies called off plans to merge.

Community banks brace for limited selection, but embrace one-stop shopping, as consolidation takes place among IT firms.

The complexion of bank M&A has changed, say investment bankers at St. Charles Capital in Denver: buyers and sellers are healthier, both sides are closer together on valuations and more buyers are approaching targets directly in lieu of bidding wars.

Hamilton State Bancshares in Hoschton, Ga., has agreed to buy Cherokee Banking in Canton, Ga.

U.S. Century Bank in Doral, Fla., has gained a pair of new investors and lost two others in the latest chapter of the struggling bank's $50 million recapitalization plan.

The birth of a U.S.-style private placement market in France offers a lesson in what happens when deleveraging banks turn their backs on credit demand. The French market could spread across Europe and compete with U.S. lenders and investors someday.

A breakdown of M&A announcements in the financial services industry for the week ended August 24.