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 our social media platforms.

The $14.3 billion-asset company said in a press release Thursday that it will sell about 4.3 million shares of common stock.

Bankers got what they asked for when the Federal Open Market Committee raised the federal funds rate by 25 basis points this week, but some banks could face near-term pain as securities portfolios lose value and certain hedging strategies backfire. Moreover, the rate hike won't have a meaningful impact on net interest margins until loan demand picks up.

Colony Bankcorp in Fitzgerald, Ga., has bought back more of its former Troubled Asset Relief Program shares held by private investors.

Ed Francis, a former executive at Hancock Holding, is seeking to buy an existing bank rather than pursue a new charter. He explains why he is prefers a complex bankruptcy process over applying to form a new bank.

First Internet Bancorp in Fishers, Ind., disclosed in a regulatory filing that it is looking to raise $25 million capital through a stock offering.

A prominent activist investor has pared back its stake in three banks.

The National Credit Union Administration rule expanding member business lending introduces new risks and lacks legal basis.

Bay Commercial Bank in Walnut Creek, Calif., has agreed to buy First ULB in Oakland, Calif.

PCSB Bank in Yorktown Heights, N.Y., is planning to convert to stock ownership, ending 145 years as a depositor-owned mutual.

The $8.2 billion-asset company said in a press release that it will move westward with an agreement to buy the $2.5 billion-asset Southwest Bancorp in Stillwater, Okla., for $564 million.

The $1.3 billion-asset Veritex said in a press release Wednesday that it will pay $162 million for the $1.1 billion-asset Sovereign.

Call it the banking equivalent of a farmers market in Brooklyn: A startup is building a platform to highlight mission-driven banks for prospective customers who want to know how their money is lent.

Pacific Premier in California has been firing on all cylinders when it comes to lending, but it needed low-cost deposits. Buying Heritage Oaks Bancorp will do just that.

Renasant in Tupelo, Miss., is the latest bank in the Deep South to announced a large stock offering.

F.N.B. Corp. in Pittsburgh has hired an executive to lead its new Charlotte, N.C., office after it completes its deal for Yadkin Financial.

Southern National Bancorp of Virginia in McLean has agreed to buy Eastern Virginia Bankshares in Glen Allen for $178.3 million.

Flushing Financial in Uniondale, N.Y., has raised $75 million by selling subordinated notes.

ConnectOne Bancorp in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., is looking to raise at least $35 million through a stock offering.

When Access National decided it wanted to buy Middleburg Financial in Virginia, it also wanted to talk to David Sokol, a major investor in Middleburg. It is an eye-catching example of how lone investors can control the outcome of community bank deals.