Commerce Bancshares in Kansas City, Mo., has agreed to buy municipal bond underwriter and adviser L.J. Hart & Co. The $32.6 billion-asset Commerce didn’t disclose the price it paid for the St. Louis, Mo., company. L.J. Hart has advised more than 300 Missouri public school districts and nearly a quarter of the 114 Missouri county governments. It has underwritten more than 2,600 municipal financings for a par value of more

Ergo Bank in Markesan, Wis., has agreed to buy Farmers & Merchants Bank of Kendall in Wisconsin. The $138 million-asset Ergo submitted its application to buy the $79 million-asset Farmers & Merchants on Wednesday. Farmers & Merchants, formed in 1913, has three branches, $60 million of loans and $64.8 million of deposits. The application wasn’t immediately available.

First United in Oakland, Md., has acquired First Mortgage Services in Cumberland, Md. The $1.8 billion-asset First United said in a press release that First Mortgage has originated nearly $900 million of consumer mortgages since 1997. The price wasn’t disclosed. The acquisition “will enhance our ability to assist our customers and market areas,” Carissa Rodeheaver, First United’s chairman, president and CEO, said in the release. “The acquisition is expected to

Northstar Bank in Bad Axe, Mich., has acquired Cypress Capital Wealth Management in Ann Arbor, Mich. The $901 million Northstar, a unit of Northstar Financial Group, retained James Housler, Cypress Capital’s founder and president, according to DBusiness Magazine. The price wasn't disclosed. “Personalization is the future of financial services, so the acquisition of Cypress Capital Wealth Management makes good business sense,” said Kevin Nelson, Northstar Financial’s CEO. “I have followed

Citizens State Bank in Cadott, Wis., has agreed to buy Community Financial Bank in Prentice, Wis. The $169 million-asset Citizens State said in a press release that it expects to complete the purchase of the $49 million-asset Community Financial early next year. The price wasn't disclosed. Community Financial has two branches. “We are very excited about our expansion into these new markets,” Tim Cruciani, Citizens State’s president and CEO, said

Santander Bank in Boston has started offering commercial equipment finance products to health care organizations. The $93.9 billion-asset company said in a press release that Santander Healthcare is an extension of its commercial equipment and vehicle finance business. Clients will include hospitals and health systems, out-patient clinics and specialized providers. "The pandemic brought to center stage how pivotal medical equipment is to our health care infrastructure," Michael Lee, a managing

Climate First Bancorp in St. Petersburg, Fla., has acquired the climate and social justice platform developed by Ecountabl. The parent of the $221 million-asset Climate First Bank said in a press release that the platform indexes data on more than 10,000 companies, analyzing their environmental, social and governance performance. The price wasn’t disclosed. The platform is expected to accelerate growth and strengthen the core capabilities of Climate First’s OneEthos digital

A new group is looking to bring small and midsize banks together to work on technology projects. The Btech Consortium is being led by Elizabeth Park Capital Management, Strandview Capital and a group of banks that includes East West Bancorp in Los Angeles and Customers Bancorp in West Reading, Pa. Participating banks will pool their capital and resources to invest in emerging tech companies. "We expect the consortium to provide