OceanFirst Financial in New Jersey has agreed to pay $186 million to buy Partners Bancorp, which owns two banks that operate in the Washington suburbs and surrounding areas.

Amid a spate of deals in 2021, community banks are actively recruiting from merging rivals that are focused on closing and integrating acquisitions.

The Indiana-based online banking pioneer is purchasing First Century, a similarly tech-savvy company, for $80 million. The deal would diversify its revenue and improve its prepaid card offerings for small businesses.

The $47.6 million deal would help MidWestOne, which has been opening offices in other parts of the U.S., to expand closer to home in Iowa.

The Illinois bank is acquiring about 1,800 loans to insurance agents. As part of the deal, a team of Allstate specialists will join the bank's insurance agency finance business.

Fifty-three percent of community bank executives who participated in a recent survey said they’d spurn a takeover offer by a credit union, even if it was the highest bid. The findings underscore the rivalry between the two sectors at a time of rising consolidation.

GreenState Credit Union has announced three bank deals this year. Its CEO says purchasing banks can be easier than merging with rival credit unions, though the state's banking regulator has made it difficult to do so within Iowa.

The deal for Michigan-based Flagstar Bancorp, announced in April, was originally expected to be completed by the end of the year. The New York bank’s CEO expressed optimism that it will still get regulatory approval.

The credit union’s agreement to acquire Midwest Community Bank in Illinois follows two other bank deals it announced this year.

The upstate New York company, which has agreed to acquire People’s United Financial in Connecticut, is the latest bank to negotiate a multibillion-dollar spending commitment with the National Community Reinvestment Coalition.

PayPal said it isn’t pursuing an acquisition of Pinterest, ending days of speculation over a potential $45 billion deal.

The Alabama company agreed to buy two nonbank lenders earlier this year. It’s still on the lookout for possible deals, potentially in corporate finance or wealth management, its chief financial officer told American Banker.

Building on four years of rapid growth in Dallas, Business First expects the acquisition to help it grow into a regional bank.

The auto lender’s acquisition of Fair Square Financial would diversify its consumer product lineup. The pandemic derailed its last effort to buy a card company.

The Florida-based asset management firm has the low-cost deposits TriState Capital needs to fund its rapid loan growth.

Though the Providence, Rhode Island, bank is in the midst of three deals, CEO Bruce Van Saun said it remains on the lookout for other nonbank purchases that could help boost fee income and generate cross-selling opportunities.

Goldman Sachs, Truist and Regions have all made deals to acquire home improvement lenders. Here's why their executives are so bullish on the sector.

The Dallas company plans to move aggressively to recruit customers and employees of rival banks involved in mergers that are shaking up the banking landscape in two of its key markets.

PayPal Holdings is exploring an acquisition of the social media company Pinterest, people with knowledge of the matter said.

DBS Group Holdings and Standard Chartered are among the lenders planning to bid for Citigroup consumer banking assets in Asia as the U.S. lender divests units across five markets in the region, according to people familiar with the matter.