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.

Portfolio Recovery Associates Inc. (Nasdaq:PRAA), a Norfolk, Va.-based debt buyer, announced that company officials will present next week to the investment community at JMP Securities' Financial Services & Real Estate Conference in New York.

The $840 million-asset company will take a third-quarter charge of about $10 million on the sale of the loans, which have a book value of $33 million, it said.

The third quarter was marked by fewer but bigger deals. Higher prices could keep volume in check as sellers hold out for more. The fiscal showdown in Washington and related market swings could also complicate the balance of the year.

Anchor BanCorp Wisconsin in Madison has completed a $175 million recapitalization. With funding from private and institutional investors, the company has capital levels above the threshold regulators consider for being well-capitalized.

Several institutions in one of the nation's hardest-hit banking markets have shed enforcement actions, or have hired new leaders, as they attempt to stage comebacks.