Independence Bancshares (IEBS) in Greenville, S.C., has hired two former Verizon executives — Aditya Khurjekar and Humphrey Chen — to broaden its mobile-banking services.

Saddle River Valley Bank, which was bought last year by Center Bancorp, allegedly failed to adequately monitor transactions with currency exchange houses in Mexico and the Dominican Republic.

The Troy, N.Y. city council approved a resolution to help recover $1.5 million in delinquent parking tickets and other billings by hiring collection agency Penn Credit.

Jacksonville Bancorp in Florida has raised $1 million through a rights offering.

Ocwen Financial in Atlanta has retired approximately $159 million of debt held by a private-equity backer.

Nearly half of all M&A activity since 2011 has been divestitures, according to a new report from Deloitte. The data reflects banks trying to streamline their business in the new operating and regulatory environments.

Sandler O'Neill included several new additions to its annual ranking of top-performing small banks and thrifts, suggesting that small lenders are slowly returning to pre-crisis health.

A breakdown of M&A announcements in the financial services industry for the week ended Sept. 21.

City National Bank of Florida in Miami has made two executive changes as its sale to a Chilean bank nears.

Managing the royalties of oil and gas landowners could generate big new fee opportunities for well-positioned banks.

Sterling Financial in Spokane, Wash., has gone ahead with rebranding its California operations as Argent Bank despite its recent merger announcement.

Investar Bank in Baton Rouge, La., is getting ready to go public.

First Republic Bank (FRC) in San Francisco has acquired a minority stake in Nigro Karlin Segal & Feldstein, a Los Angeles business management firm that caters to the stars.

NewBridge Bancorp (NBBC) in Greensboro, N.C., has received regulatory approval to buy struggling mutual Security Savings Bank in Southport, N.C.

Midland States Bancorp in Effingham, Ill., has agreed to buy Heartland Bank in St. Louis to lower its reliance on interest income, strengthen fee income and improve its chances at going public.

Cordia Bancorp (BVA) in Midlothian, Va., has hired Mark Severson as chief financial officer.

Wesley A. Brown, a Denver investment banker and member of the Alpine Rescue Team, is trained to save your bank — or you, if you get stuck in the mountains of Colorado. Recent floods there put his skills, and those of his teammates, to the test.

Self-Help Federal Credit Union, the California community development credit union that bought Second Federal Savings & Loan last year, has officially reopened the failed thrift in conjunction with Chicago's Resurrection Project.

Institutional loan volume is expected to hit $500 billion or more this year or next as investors look to capitalize on higher interest rates. However, the prospects for leveraged lending by banks is murkier, according to a survey by the Loan Syndications and Trading Association.

East West of Los Angeles hopes that buying MetroCorp in Houston will help its Chinese clients develop business ties in the Lone Star State.