Monarch Community Bancorp (MCBF) in Coldwater, Mich., has raised $16.5 million in a private placement that will allow it to exit the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

BOK Financial (BOKF) has agreed to acquire GTRUST Financial, an independent trust and asset management company in Topeka, Kan.

Two of the oldest nonprofit credit counselors plan to merge, in a move that would create the second-largest such organization in the U.S.

Georgia Commerce's agreement to buy Brookhaven Bank in Atlanta is a sign that it is becoming more financially advantageous to sell out instead of raising capital, especially in a recovering market like Georgia's.

Bank buyers should run potential deals by regulators early to avoid "landmines" and speed applications, officials from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency say. Proper due diligence, succession planning and risk management are among the things they look for.

FirstBank in Lakewood, Colo., has announced plans to acquire a branch in Palm Desert, Calif., from El Paseo Bank.

The $785 million-asset Georgia Commerce has agreed to buy Brookhaven Bank, the two companies announced Tuesday. The price was not disclosed.

The $18 billion-asset company said late Tuesday it has acquired certain assets and liabilities from Surety Financial Services in Sherman Oaks, Calif. The companies did not disclose the terms or specify the assets that were transferred.

Bridge Bancorp (BDGE) in Bridgehampton, N.Y., is planning to raise at least $25 million in a public stock offering to support its purchase of FNBNY Bancorp in Merrick, N.Y.

The $356.6 million-asset company issued 2.8 million shares of common stock to investors at a purchase price of $1.00 per share.

David Matson will serve on the board's asset and liability committee and on its newly created risk management committee, according to First BanCorp's Tuesday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

With nearly 140 banks and a forecast for sluggish growth in the next decade, the city should be primed for consolidation. One big problem: few bankers seem interested in selling.

The $656 million-asset company will sell up to $25 million of common stock in a public offering, according to a Monday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Bank of America has officially finished swallowing Merrill Lynch. The country's second-largest bank on Tuesday merged its Merrill subsidiary into its main unit, almost five years after buying the investment bank at the height of the financial crisis.

National Bank Holdings Corp., a company formed in 2009 to buy failed banks, is planning to contract its branch network.

New Century Bancorp in Dunn, N.C., has agreed to buy Select Bancorp in Greenville, N.C.

The $483 million-asset company issued 370,000 shares of common stock to a prominent financial institution investor, according to a press release Monday. The investor was not named in the release.

Solera National Bancorp in Lakewood, Colo., has ended a months-long search for a new leader.

A breakdown of M&A announcements in the financial services industry for the week ended Sept. 28.

Bridge Bancorp in Bridgehampton, N.Y., has agreed to buy FNBNY Bancorp in Merrick, N.Y.