American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. Comments are excerpted from reader response sections of AmericanBanker.com articles and from our social media platforms.

First National Bank in Howell, Mich., has named a former Midwestern bank executive to its board.

NexTier in Butler, Pa., has agreed to buy Eureka Financial in Pittsburgh.

DCB Financial has agreed to sell its headquarters in Lewis Center, Ohio, for $8.2 million.

First Dakota National Bank in Yankton, S.D., has agreed to buy Dakota State Bank in Blunt, S.D.

Some institutions, such as Amalgamated Bank in New York, are voluntarily raising wages for tellers and other workers, while banks in cities such as Seattle and Los Angeles are being forced to pay more by municipal ordinances.

Summit State Bank in Santa Rosa, Calif., has exited the Small Business Lending Fund.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s second-quarter industry update showed steadily rising loan balances making up for persistently tight net interest margins.

Lead Bank in Kansas City, Mo., is poised to open a special branch designed for millennial entrepreneurs. Not only can these commercial customers bank in the techie, garage-like space, but they can actually work there, too.

Talented lenders and anxious clients should expect a full-court press from Pennsylvania's community banks as they look to take market share from of the state's newcomer.

Ebrahim Shabudin, former chief operating officer and chief credit officer at United Commercial Bank in San Francisco, has been sentenced to 97 months in prison for securities fraud related to the bank's failure.

Barre Savings Bank in Barre, Mass., has agreed to merge with Fidelity Bank in Leominster, Mass.

Industry conferences that feature advice tailored to the concerns of Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase don't do community bankers a whole lot of good.

FS Bancorp in Mountlake Terrace, Wash., has agreed to buy four branches in Washington from Bank of America in Charlotte, N.C.

Banking's ties to sports stretch back for more than a century. The "father of baseball," Alexander Cartwright, worked at Union Bank of New York before he established the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club. Today, the two worlds remain incredibly close, as evidenced by these prominent individuals.

Auburn State Bank and Carson National Bank of Auburn in Nebraska have received the go-ahead from the Federal Reserve to merge.

Talmer Bancorp has enough capital for M&A, though the large repurchase of stock from W.L. Ross might rule out a big acquisition for now.

Iberiabank in Lafayette, La., has named Rick Pullum its Orlando, Fla., market president.

MVB Financial in Fairmont, W.Va., has purchased two former Susquehanna Bank branches in West Virginia from BB&T.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has lifted its operating agreement with the banking unit of Capital Bank Financial in Coral Gables, Fla.