Bridge Bancorp in Bridgehampton, N.Y., is looking to raise $50 million by selling common stock.

Distinct business plans in promising areas such as smart use of consumer data, cybersecurity and content creation, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch commercial banking executive Scott Olmsted. And that is just the beginning of his list.

BMO Harris Bank in Chicago has agreed to sell 31 Wisconsin branches to a California real estate investment trust.

A number of states still have a disproportionately high percentage of unbanked and underbanked citizens. Bankers in those states hope that financial education, along with efforts to promote checking accounts and small-dollar loans, will get more people into the banking system.

Pinnacle Financial in Nashville, Tenn., has sold $120 million in subordinated notes and will use the proceeds to retire existing debt and bolster its capital levels.

Politicians clamoring for the largest U.S. institutions to be broken up have failed to consider the prospect of China acquiring a bigger piece of the American banking system.

Montana's biggest bank will have to compete in cities such as Seattle and Portland, Ore., after buying Cascade Bancorp. But the company is arguably more excited about its chances to grow in central Oregon and Idaho, which are more like its existing markets.

Simmons First National in Pine Bluff, Ark., has agreed to buy the parent of First South Bank in Jackson, Tenn.

The $9 billion-asset First Interstate said in a press release Thursday that it will pay $589 million, or $7.60 a share, for the $3.2 billion-asset Cascade.

Abington Bank in Massachusetts is planning to merge with Holbrook Co-operative Bank in Massachusetts.

Home BancShares in Conway, Ark., said in a press release Thursday that its bank has been declared the winning bidder for Bank of Commerce in Sarasota, Fla., as part of a bankruptcy auction.

Carter Bank in Virginia had been enjoying record profit until it was ordered to beef up Bank Secrecy Act compliance. The institution is the latest community bank to take a hit from enhanced oversight.

The complexity for large banks trying to improve culture is they are made up of different entities with competing missions and therefore competing cultures.

Sterling Bancorp in Montebello, N.Y., is planning to raise up to $81 million through a stock offering.

LendingTree has agreed to pay up to $130 million to acquire the credit card shopping site CompareCards.

Franklin Financial Network in Franklin, Tenn., is raising capital after being flagged by regulators for its exposure to commercial real estate.

PacWest Bancorp in Los Angeles has agreed to sell four properties in California to a real estate firm.

SouthCrest Financial Group in Woodstock, Ga., has agreed to sell its only Alabama branches to Guardian Credit Union in Montgomery, Ala.

MainStreet Bancshares in Fairfax, Va., has hired a veteran Virginia banker as its president.

The Farm Service Agency and the Small Business Administration seem to be taking longer to approve guarantees for loans to facilities that house livestock, creating another headache for bankers.