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.

Pacific Premier Bancorp in Irvine, Calif., has agreed to buy Heritage Oaks Bancorp in Paso Robles, Calif.

Gene Bruyette, a co-founder of Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, the investment bank that became one of the most prolific advisors on bank merger deals, has died. He was 90.

A former director at Pinnacle Financial Partners who pleaded guilty to insider trading agreed to pay a heftier fine after a judge rejected the initial penalty as being too low.

Banks aiming to market internally developed products to other banks are also taking steps to become better vendors. Leader Bank, for instance, took more than a year to get its technology and staffing up to snuff before pitching its rent-payment program.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce stands by its cash-and-stock bid to buy U.S. lender PrivateBancorp and is willing to wait out a market rally to complete the deal, Chief Executive Officer Victor Dodig said.

A New Jersey investor has received approval from the Federal Reserve to significantly boost its stake in MSB Financial in Millington, N.J.

The focus of banks' sales practices should be less about unit-based incentives, and more about developing a full relationship with customers and doing what's in their best interest.

HomeTrust Bancshares in Asheville, N.C., has agreed to buy United Financial of North Carolina, a municipal lease finance company based in Fletcher, N.C.

Orrstown Financial Services in Shippensburg, Pa., has acquired Wheatland Advisors in Lancaster, Pa.

Renasant in Tupelo, Miss., is the latest banking company to get out of loss-share agreements with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

A California bank is planning to add mortgages and home equity lines to its product set.

SmartFinancial in Knoxville, Tenn., has agreed to buy a branch in Tennessee from a division of Atlantic Capital Bank in Atlanta.

Lakeland Bancorp in Oak Ridge, N.J., has filed the paperwork to sell up to $50 million shares of common stock.

The new chairman of Republic First was famously ousted from Commerce Bancorp because of conflict-of-interest concerns years ago. His new bank uses some Hill-related companies for marketing and other services but says that it has structured the relationship in a way that passes muster with regulators.

The $22 billion-asset company said in a press release Thursday that it is looking to sell 8.4 million shares of common stock, though it could sell another 840,000 shares if there is enough demand.

A dozen publicly traded banks have raised more than $1 billion in recent weeks, taking advantage of surging stock prices. Additional banks are expected to follow, setting the stage for more M&A and other growth moves.

Already defending itself against a lawsuit challenging its member business lending rule, the credit union regulator now must grapple with a challenge to field-of-membership regulations. Some observers suggest the scope of the legal approach is unprecedented.

When BankMobile, the brainchild of Jay Sidhu and his daughter Luvleen, relaunches on a new platform in January, security — especially for the onboarding process — will be completely redesigned.

First Bancshares in Hattiesburg, Miss., has exited the Troubled Asset Relief Program, thanks partly to an assist from another bank.