Franklin Synergy Bank in Franklin, Tenn., is planning to raise money from institutional investors as a prelude to a public offering.

TotalBank in Miami, Fla., has given President Luis de la Aguilera the additional job of chief executive.

The $126 million-asset company expects to be eligible to deregister because its common stock has fewer than 300 shareholders, according a filing Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Monarch Community Bancorp (MCBF) in Coldwater, Mich., has raised $16.5 million in a private placement that will allow it to exit the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

First Community Financial Partners in Joliet, Ill., has repurchased a large chunk of shares from private investors that acquired the shares from the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Carrollton Bancorp's main private-equity backer, Eric Hovde, the president and chief executive of the Hovde Private Equity Advisors, is joining its board.

BOK Financial (BOKF) has agreed to acquire GTRUST Financial, an independent trust and asset management company in Topeka, Kan.

Hanmi Financial (HAFC) in Los Angeles has hired a handful of banking executives from rival Korean-American lender BBCN Bank (BBCN).

Georgia Commerce's agreement to buy Brookhaven Bank in Atlanta is a sign that it is becoming more financially advantageous to sell out instead of raising capital, especially in a recovering market like Georgia's.

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday that U.S. regulators don't want to harm community bankers still ailing from the financial crisis.

Bank buyers should run potential deals by regulators early to avoid "landmines" and speed applications, officials from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency say. Proper due diligence, succession planning and risk management are among the things they look for.

FirstBank in Lakewood, Colo., has announced plans to acquire a branch in Palm Desert, Calif., from El Paseo Bank.

Fee waivers on overdrafts, forbearance are just some options banks are offering to federal employees who could soon miss a paycheck or two.

The $785 million-asset Georgia Commerce has agreed to buy Brookhaven Bank, the two companies announced Tuesday. The price was not disclosed.

Given the importance and huge upside of success, the risk of disappointment in a firm's diversity and inclusion efforts must be continuously confronted and overcome.

SunTrust Banks Inc., Georgia's biggest lender, agreed to a $65 million settlement with Freddie Mac covering refunds for faulty mortgages.

A former executive at a Norfolk, Va., bank has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison for his role in the fraud that led to the bank's collapse.

The $18 billion-asset company said late Tuesday it has acquired certain assets and liabilities from Surety Financial Services in Sherman Oaks, Calif. The companies did not disclose the terms or specify the assets that were transferred.

The $2 billion-asset company said Tuesday that it had fully redeemed the $20.5 million in preferred shares issued through the program. Park Sterling funded the redemption with a payment from its bank.

Bridge Bancorp (BDGE) in Bridgehampton, N.Y., is planning to raise at least $25 million in a public stock offering to support its purchase of FNBNY Bancorp in Merrick, N.Y.