The company would gain its first branches around Annapolis after it buys Severn Bancorp in a deal valued at $146 million.

DMG Bancshares, formed by banking veteran Don Griffith, wants to buy more West Coast banks. For California First, the sale ends a four-year period in which it substantially shrank its loan book after it was ordered to shed leveraged loans.

For the second time in three years, the Cleveland thrift has received a low score on its Community Reinvestment Act examination for making too few home loans in low-income communities.

PayPal Holdings Inc. is in talks to acquire the startup Curv, which helps companies transfer and store digital currencies.

The bank's purchase of Sodak Home Loans in Sioux Falls, S.D., adds to a string of bank deals for mortgage lenders this year.

The company has agreed to pay $43 million for a bank with assets of $354 million.

Ingenious Financial in Arlington, Va., is raising $200 million in hopes of buying an existing bank. Bank of Ingenious would focus on professionals such as doctors, dentists and veterinarians.

Members of two smaller institutions will soon vote on whether to join South Carolina-based REV, boosting its assets by 15% and giving it a foothold in North Carolina.

Private equity firm Advent International is merging portfolio companies Transaction Services Group and Clearent, paving the way to another payments giant.

JPMorgan Chase is stepping up its search for acquisition targets as competition intensifies from financial technology firms and other new rivals.