Jackie Stewart is the executive editor of American Banker Magazine. Previously, she covered breaking news, community banks and mergers and acquisitions for American Banker before being named as the managing editor of the Credit Union Journal. After graduating from Northwestern University in 2006, Jackie taught for two years in the Bronx, N.Y., through Teach for America.
Stock fluctuations will fuel investment banking fees in the short run, but a prolonged shock would complicate bank M&A and could tighten margins, crimp wealth management fees and present other risks.
The Wisconsin company hasn't bought a bank since 2007. The potential for unforeseen regulatory snags and scrutiny from community groups have the company's conservative management team biding their time.
Cascade Bancorp took less than two weeks to integrate its last acquisition, and CEO Terry Zink explains one of the big reasons: officials at the Oregon bank spent months beforehand with an outside firm practicing the conversion.
First Bancorp, OFG Bancorp and Popular Inc. have been trimming exposure to central government loans in recent years to limit their exposure to a financial crisis. Most still bank the island's municipalities, though they have strict underwriting and collateral to protect their interests.
A high percentage of loans to oil and gas firms are large and syndicated. As a result, more shared loans are becoming problematic for participating lenders.
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.
Suncrest Bank in Visalia, Calif., has agreed to buy Sutter Community Bank in Yuba City, Calif., for $9.4 million in stock.
"Stay tuned" for the Houston bank's first deal since April 2014, CEO David Zalman tells investors.
A spike in core deposits increased funding costs and contributed to margin compression at Synovus in the second quarter. But the company could benefit from locking in liquidity now, particularly when interest rates rise.
Synovus Financial in Columbus, Ga., reported higher second-quarter income tied to a lower loan-loss provision.
Zions Bancorp. in Salt Lake City reported a second-quarter loss after selling the remainder of its portfolio of collateralized debt obligations.
The Minneapolis investment bank, for the most, didn't serve financial institutions. It hopes to change that with a number of key hires and the purchase of a Chicago boutique firm.
The Cleveland company, which this spring said it had decided to start originating its own mortgage loans again, shared more details on the start date of this new effort and the rationale behind it.
Peoples Bancorp in Ohio wants to encourage cross-selling but limits the use of employee incentive payments to make it happen. Instead, Peoples is trying to build a corporate culture in which employees understand all of its products and want to help their colleagues sell them.
Piper Jaffray has agreed to buy River Branch Holdings, a Chicago investment bank that focuses on financial institutions.
Colorado state regulators on Friday closed the $31.7 million-asset Premier Bank in Denver.
Paring back branch networks is a quick way to cut costs. But executives at large regionals are reluctant to make such cuts until they have found a way to thrive at other delivery channels.
A federal court has stopped the operations and froze the assets of a national debt relief telemarketing business that is under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission and the state of Florida.
Nearly 85% of the acquisitions announced this year have involved sellers with $500 million or less in assets. Investment bankers expect more of the same in the final six months of this year.
Banks have faced increased scrutiny of their treatment of customers since the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and BB&T and others have proven that the process can be managed. Old fights with regulators can be put in the past if banks work hard at it.