Florida

Home BancShares in Conway, Ark., has agreed to buy the parent of Landmark Bank in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

The $408 million-asset company said in a press release that it completed a private placement of subordinated debt to accredited institutional investors.

As voters in California, Florida and nine other states decide whether to legalize marijuana, the results may force Congress to resolve differences between federal and state laws that have paralyzed much of the banking industry.

Gulf Coast Community Bank in Florida agreed to sell itself last month after spending six frustrating years trying to tackle credit issues and angling for a settlement tied to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Seacoast Banking Corp. of Florida in Stuart has agreed to buy GulfShore Bancshares in Tampa, Fla.

Regulators have pressed banks to watch out for rising concentrations of commercial real estate loans. Some banks have paid heed, but others are skyrocketing past recommended thresholds.

OptimumBank Holdings in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has appointed a former Florida credit union CEO, John H. Clifford, to its board.

CenterState Banks in Davenport, Fla., has agreed to buy Platinum Bank Holding Company in Brandon, Fla., in a $83.9 million cash-and-stock deal.

First Bancshares in Hattiesburg, Miss., has agreed to buy two banks in Alabama and Florida and it announced plans for a capital-raise to fund the deals.

Bank of Commerce in Sarasota, Fla., will change hands following a bankruptcy auction.

Community bankers say that reclassifying "reciprocal deposits" as a less risky type of deposit will help them to compete with large banks. Some deposit brokers are crying foul, arguing that the proposed legislation would put them at a competitive disadvantage. Observers, meanwhile, say the bill is so narrowly written that it would hardly affect competition.

Park National in Newark, Ohio, has agreed to pay $500,000 to settle Securities and Exchange Commission allegations that its loan-loss accounting underplayed credit problems at a troubled acquisition.

Pilot Bank in Tampa, Fla., has recruited Rita Lowman, the chief operating officer of C1 Bank in St. Petersburg, Fla., to be its COO.

Angel Medina has been promoted to chief executive at Gibraltar Private Bank and Trust in Coral Gables, Fla.

Raul G. Valdes-Fauli, president and chief executive of Professional Bank in Coral Gables, Fla., has died.

BankUnited in Miami Lakes, Fla., has named Citigroup technology veteran Julio Jogaib as its chief information officer.

TIAA will promote one of its own to chair its expanded bank after it buys EverBank Financial in Jacksonville, Fla.

CommunityOne Bancorp in Charlotte, N.C., has scheduled its annual meeting as it waits for regulators to sign off on its sale to Capital Bank Financial in Coral Gables, Fla.

Coastal Banking Co. in Beaufort, S.C., promoted Charles Wagner to president and hired Thomas Flournoy to be its new chief financial officer.

Sometimes the very challenges millennials introduce — whether it is seeking more benefits, demanding flexible schedules or asking for frequent feedback on performance — can turn banks into better places to work for employees of all ages.