DLP Bancshares, an affiliate of DLP Real Estate Capital, plans to use the acquisition to create a national platform for commercial real estate and warehouse loans.

The company will pay $29 million for Town-Country National Bank in Camden, Ala., which will operate as its own subsidiary after the deal closes.

M&F Bancorp in North Carolina plans to use some of the $18 million it received from big banks to make overdue improvements to its commercial lending platform.

Walter Kaczmarek, who ran the bank from 2005 to 2019, will also serve as interim president following the retirement of Keith Wilton.

Acquisition-hungry Stearns Bank has been fielding so many calls from would-be sellers that it has brought in a merger specialist to sort through them.

The $21 million deal would combine Feather River Bancorp, a small bank with deep local roots, and Plumas Bancorp, which has deeper pockets and a broader array of products and services.

Community banks with meager tech budgets need help identifying the right systems for institutions their size and finding good partners, says Sultan Meghji, who recently joined the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in this newly created role.

The company has formed a special committee to find a successor for James Ford, who will retire as president and CEO next year.

The acquisition of Golden Pacific Bank will accelerate the online lender’s effort to become a full-service bank.

The unnamed investors will pay about $50 million for Northern California National Bank through a tender offer.

“We were already shifting to recruiting more problem solvers than people handling transactions,” said Robert Fisher, CEO of Tioga State Bank in New York and incoming chairman of the Independent Community Bankers of America. “That pace of change has accelerated.”

On Dec. 31, 2020. Dollars in thousands.

On Dec. 31, 2020. Dollars in thousands.

The company would gain its first branches around Annapolis after it buys Severn Bancorp in a deal valued at $146 million.

The bank’s new holding company, Amalgamated Financial Group, is the first publicly traded financial services company to become a public benefit corporation. It says the legal designation will help officers and directors balance the interests of shareholders and the public.

On Dec. 31, 2020. Dollars in thousands.

Community Banks with the Largest C&I Loan Portfolios

Community banks, which for years have relied heavily on commercial real estate lending, have been tightening underwriting standards, conducting more frequent loan reviews and stepping back from certain subsectors to minimize their credit exposure.

The bank, formed in 2019 when investors bought and recapitalized Sound Bank, will use the funds to hire lenders and improve its overall infrastructure.

Soybean, corn and wheat are trading at their highest levels since 2014, meaning farmers are more likely to catch up on loan payments and pursue expansions that require them to take out more loans.