There are ways to provide a better consumer experience, even when institutions are looking to settle up on unpaid accounts.

The holding company for Union Bank — itself a unit of the Japanese giant Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group — is on a mission to double its size and become one of the nation's 10 largest banks. Under Steve Cummings, its first-ever American CEO, MUFG Americas has expanded middle-market lending and amassed $3 billion of consumer deposits through its new online bank. Is a splashy acquisition next?

An affiliate of the private-equity firm Angel Oak is packaging bank-issued sub debt to minimize risk for bondholders. It recently completed its first securitization and has plans to issue two deals a year.

A judge in North Carolina granted a request by First Citizens to block KS Bancorp from enacting a shareholder rights plan.

A recent acquisition that was highly dilutive, and a lack of suitable mutual targets, could spur HarborOne Bancorp to pursue a second-step conversion.

LGE Community Credit Union has a deal to acquire Georgia Heritage Bank. It's the fourth time this year a credit union has agreed to buy a bank.

This deal marks the fourth time already this year that a credit union has purchased a bank.

The company will also sell $58 million in deposits to West Gate Bank.

The Alabama company will enter Sarasota, Fla., after buying Premier for $52 million.

Ancora Advisors will place a representative on MutualFirst's board in exchange for supporting the company's director nominees and other policies.

The $6 million acquisition will add four businesses with a total of $700 million in assets under management.

More buyers, spurred by increased lending and an improved economy, are pursuing deals for banks with an abundance of cheap deposits.

Independent Bank Group said the firms had become shareholders after it bought Carlile Bancshares last year.

The bank, which has branches in eight states and operates a nationwide real estate business, said that the proposed new name, Bank OZK, would better reflect its geographic reach.

Legacy financial firms like the big credit bureau are seeking out financial technology to diversify themselves, bring new products to market faster and meet the needs of global customers.

BankFirst Financial Services in Columbus, Miss., has acquired HomeFirst, a mortgage services firm.

Doubling down on its surprise pivot to blockchain technology, the former parent company of Long Island Iced Tea—now Long Blockchain Corp.—is buying a U.K. tech firm specializing in distributed ledger technology and cryptocurrency.

Park National, which came to regret its acquisition of a Florida bank just before the financial crisis, took more than a year to vet NewDominion before making an offer.

For all the hype around prepaid, Netspend's new president, Kelley Knutson, is convinced that there won't be much talk about the "prepaid industry" in another 10 years.

The company's deal for Coastway Bancorp in Rhode Island makes sense since both institutions are former credit unions.