American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. Comments are excerpted from reader response sections of AmericanBanker.com articles and from our social media platforms.

Blue Harbour Group, an activist investor fund, has amassed a 5.7% stake in Investors Bancorp in New Jersey.

Bryn Mawr Bank in Pennsylvania has agreed to buy Powers Craft Parker & Beard, an insurance broker and risk management consulting firm.

The Florida Office of Financial Regulation has approved Florida Central Credit Union's bid to buy a Sarasota, Fla., branch from First Federal Bank of Florida.

HomeTrust Bank faced a legal challenge from HomeTown Bank after it entered southwestern Virginia. The now-resolved dispute serves as a reminder that banks must be aware of branding challenges when they enter new markets.

Southern Bancorp in Arkadelphia, Ark., has agreed to buy the Bank of Bolivar County in Shelby, Miss.

A former Eastern Bank executive has been charged with insider trading in connection with the Boston bank's 2010 purchase of Wainwright Bank & Trust.

Investors will remain reluctant to take on the personal risk inherent in establishing de novo community banks as long as new regulations remain unwieldy and returns stay low, according to Richard Magrann-Wells.

Bankers and industry representatives are taking serious issue with a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau alert that calls into question the transparency of contracts between colleges and financial institutions that offer student products.

Four Oaks Fincorp in Four Oaks, N.C., has raised $24 million through a rights offering.

An investor has filed a lawsuit to block the merger deal between the two First Citizens banks in the Carolinas, which are controlled by the Holding family. The case could turn on whether the directors on the special committees that reviewed the deal were truly independent of the Holdings.

The Providence, R.I., company is set to be spun off from its foreign parent, and executives are embracing the opportunity to simplify their products, expand lending and overhaul their customer experience.

Costs associated with its recent acquisition pushed Cascade Bancorp, in Bend, Ore., into the red in the second quarter.

Sun Bancorp in Mount Laurel, N.J., plans to raise approximately $20 million to fund its recent restructuring.

Beneficial Mutual Bancorp in Philadelphia, which dates back to 1853, is the latest old-school mutual thrift to announce plans for a second-step conversion to a fully public stockholder company.

C1 Financial, a $1.4 billion-asset company in St. Petersburg, Fla., raised $45 million today from its initial public offering.

Clayton Deutsch has spent the last several years streamlining Boston Private's past acquisitions in an effort to improve the company's profitability. With most of the cuts in place, the company is now eyeing acquisitions like the one it announced last month for Banyan Partners, a Florida investment adviser.

CenterState Banks in Davenport, Fla., plans to close additional branches from a recent acquisition.

First Citizens BancShares in Raleigh, N.C., has appointed Blake Coules chief risk officer.

Investment banker Jason R. Hach has joined Sandler O’Neill following four years at its archrival Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.