Capital

Farmers & Merchants will pay $89 million for the parent of Bank of Geneva.

The Oakland bank has raised $25 million through a private placement of common stock.

The first meeting is structured like a job interview. After that, organizers should expect plenty of questions about money, management and markets.

Jacobs Asset Management, which expressed frustration over a slow turnaround at MidSouth, said it could launch a proxy battle at next year's annual meeting.

Ratings firms and mutual funds are seeing greater value in community banks because of their simplicity and local connections.

Organizers of Piermont Bank said in their application with the FDIC that they want to raise $100 million and eventually operate in several urban coastal communities.

Keith Mestrich, who runs the union-founded bank, plans to use a more liquid stock to pursue acquisitions in cities such as Boston, Seattle and Los Angeles.

Guaranty Bancorp could have had a different owner if not for a suitor’s ill-timed stock hiccup that gave a rival the upper hand.

The transaction was set up to give Mercantil more autonomy to expand in South Florida, Houston and New York.

Customers Bancorp said Flagship Community Bank has temporarily withdrawn its application with the FDIC to acquire the digital bank.