Signature Bank (SBNY) in New York City has hired a private-client team from Citigroup (NYSE: C) and added two more bankers to head its existing groups.

StoneCastle Financial is planning an initial public offering to raise up to $150 million for bank investments.

Avidbank Holdings (AVBH) in Palo Alto, Calif., has raised $16 million selling roughly 1.6 million shares of common stock in a private offering.

The $4.2 billion-asset, Conway, Ark., company will pay $280 million in cash and stock for the $2.9 billion-asset Liberty.

Trade finance involving U.S. and Chinese companies is growing, and MetroCorp could be free to make more loans now that it is free of a regulatory order.

Premara Bank in Charlotte, N.C., has opened a branch in downtown Washington.

Volatility in other credit markets is starting to spill over into leveraged loans, as more than a dozen companies have pulled refinancings and other deals in the primary loan market this month.

In the wake of his Deloitte crackdown last week, New York financial regulator Benjamin Lawsky called for more reforms, and punishments, of the bank consulting industry.

Like a lot of buyers, Southern Missouri Bancorp would like to acquire bigger banks, but in agreeing to buy Bank of Thayer and its parent for $6.5 million, its execs say they are being realistic and going for what is available.

A breakdown of M&A announcements in the financial services industry for the week ended June 22.

Shareholders of San Diego Trust Bank have approved the bank's sale to Pacific Premier (PPBI) in Irvine, Calif.

Southern Missouri Bancorp in Poplar Bluff, Mo., has agreed to buy Ozarks Legacy Community Financial in Thayer, Mo.

Two American Banker staffers who cover mergers and acquisitions have a confession to make. We sometimes get so enmeshed in the arcane numbers behind bank deals that we overlook what really makes them tick: the human element.

The chief executive and three directors of Atlantic Coast Financial (ACFC) are leaving the company after shareholders rejected a proposed sale to Bond Street Holdings earlier this month.

As part of the heavy competition in New York, BankUnited CEO John Kanas has swiped a number of bankers away from rivals, including Capital One and Signature Bank. Most worked for him at the old North Fork Bank.

California Republic Bancorp in Irvine has securitized and sold $238 million of notes backed by its car loans.

The NCUA has approved the mergers of several struggling credit unions, including four more in California.

F&M Bank Corp. (FMBM) in Timberville, Va., has named new chief financial and administrative officers at its bank unit as part of a series of promotions.

First PacTrust Bancorp (BANC) in Irvine, Calif., is planning to raise about $46 million through a sale of common stock.

Banks on the block are still trading at reasonable valuations, and their financials are offering more clarity than in the recent past. That's has some industry observers believing that the stars are aligning for deals to get done. For sellers, the dilemma is whether to take the modest multiples on offer or hold for more at the risk of missing out altogether.