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State Bank Financial in Atlanta has reduced its workforce by consolidating several company departments, as it pivots away from failed-bank loss-share agreements and looks to acquire healthy banks.
September 11 -
CBank in Cincinnati has agreed to buy Commercial Industrial Finance, a St. Louis equipment leasing and finance firm.
April 7 -
Lenders have increasingly turned to niche businesses, such as equipment financing, to differentiate themselves from competitors. Some banks, like Bank of the Cascades in Oregon, are choosing complicated specialties like aircraft financing that may scare off potential rivals.
July 29
State Bank Financial in Atlanta has acquired Patriot Capital, a provider of equipment financing to gas stations and commercial petroleum users.
The $3.4 billion-asset State Bank announced the acquisition on Thursday. Terms were not disclosed and the acquisition does not include Patriot's existing loan portfolio, a spokesman said.
Patriot Capital originates equipment-financing loans for the retail petroleum industry. Its 17 employees in Atlanta will join State Bank, under the leadership of Patriot's founder and president, Chris Santy.
The new arm represents "another vertical through which we can efficiently and prudently add attractive assets in our current low rate environment," Tom Wiley, chief executive of State Bank & Trust, said in an Oct. 22 earnings call.
Patriot's loans typically range between $100,000 and $150,000 and it expects to originate a total of $40 million in loans this year, Wiley said during the call. State Bank plans to hold for investment the loans that Patriot originates.
As retailers and banks continue to roll out EMV-enabled credit and debit cards, that also gives Patriot an opportunity for expansion, Joe Evans, chairman and CEO of State Bank Financial, said during the call.
"There is some technology change in the works for retail gasoline pumps, regarding credit card chips, that we think is going to be very positive for the replacement of retail gasoline equipment," Evans said.
