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.

A flood of fintech companies are promising to create a better experience for mortgage borrowers, forcing lenders to contemplate buying a vendor's software, building applications in-house — or even outright acquiring a company with digital expertise.

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

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.

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

The bank must make fundamental changes to avoid becoming the ultimate scapegoat for grievances about Wall Street's biggest banks.

The $1.2 billion-asset NexTier said in a press release Wednesday that it will pay $2.3 million, or $531.55 a share, in cash for the $40 million-asset Manor.