But they won’t do it right away. Here’s why not, and what will have to change – in retail and commercial banking – for deposit-funding costs to begin to rise along with increases in the federal funds rate.

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.

Ralph Hamers, CEO of ING Group in Amsterdam, sat down with American Banker to talk about the company's future in the U.S., plans to grow mobile users and banks' relationship with fintech.

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.

Hancock Holding in Gulfport, Miss., is selling up to 5.75 million shares of common stock, in part to support potential acquisitions.

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.

The core-tech vendor Fiserv has agreed to buy Online Banking Solutions in Atlanta.

First Republic Bank in San Francisco has bought Gradifi, a two-year old firm that works with small and large companies to help their employees pay down student debt.

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.

The core-tech vendor Fiserv has agreed to buy Online Banking Solutions in Atlanta.

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.

A Citigroup currency trader in Tokyo who sued the U.S. bank after it fired him for allegedly trying to manipulate foreign-exchange rates has settled the case.