Retail & Commercial

Rockville Financial (RCKB) in Glastonbury, Conn., and United Financial Bancorp (UBNK) in West Springfield, Mass., have secured four of the five regulatory approvals needed to complete their high-profile merger.

Salisbury Bancorp (SAL) in Lakeville, Conn., has agreed to buy Riverside Bank in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

Post-crisis structural changes will trigger a wave of community bank M&A, creating new regional bank powerhouses. Investors will pressure management to acquire, sell or return capital through dividends or repurchases. There will be no runners-up in the coming consolidation.

NexBank has appointed Craig Campbell president of NexBank Securities and senior managing director of NexBank Capital Advisors.

The investigation that Justice Department officials have dubbed "Operation Choke Point" was first disclosed in March 2013. The probe aims to prevent fraudsters from accessing consumer bank accounts by choking off their access to the payments system. Its effects have been felt by banks, payment processors and companies that make short-term consumer loans over the Internet, with some industry officials arguing that at least some of the affected online lenders are legitimate businesses. Here is a look at key milestones of the investigation.

Ontario Systems, a leading receivables management technology and services provider, has announced Chief Compliance Officer Rozanne Andersen will present at the 18th annual National Collections & Operational Risk Conference in Miami next week.

River Valley Community Bank (RVVY) in Yuba City, Calif., is set to have a new chief executive.

Oak Valley Bancorp (OVLY) in Oakdale, Calif., has restated its fourth-quarter earnings after discovering that it made an error accounting for a common stock dividend.

While big banks are trying to recruit more employees with engineering and technology expertise, they are often losing out to startups and tech giants like Facebook and Google. American Banker editors discuss the perks, better compensation and cultural changes that banks would need to offer to get ahead in the war for talent.

Associated Banc-Corp (ASBC) in Green Bay, Wis., seems poised to make acquisitions.