Robert Barba is the technology editor of American Banker. Robert previously served as deputy editor of American Banker's dealmaking and strategy section. He joined American Banker in late 2007 as a community banking reporter, just in time for the financial crisis. Robert played a lead role in covering community banks' struggle for survival in the years following the downturn. Robert has appeared on Fox Business to discuss bank failures and the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program. Prior to joining American Banker, Robert was a general business reporter at Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers in Stuart, Fla. He began his career as a business desk intern at The Denver Post and Boulder Daily Camera. Robert is based in New York.
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Investors have been waiting for George Martinez to take Allegiance Bancshares public, and 2015 was expected to be the year. But a slide in oil prices might complicate the prospects. Still, with an acquisition to integrate and a team that produces 20% annual loan growth, he is looking forward to the coming year.
December 30 -
Jack Kopnisky of Sterling Bancorp in New York, which completed a major acquisition last year and has another in the works, is close to reaching his goal of creating a top earner. That effort, and the risks associated with it, make Kopnisky one of American Bankers five community bankers to watch in 2015.
December 26 -
Where there's a will, there's a way for Chris Bauer, who guided Anchor through bankruptcy as a means of recapitalizing the once-struggling Wisconsin company. The turnaround was punctuated with the company's October IPO.
December 16 -
Porter Bancorp in Louisville, Ky., is rearranging some of its capital with an eye toward improving common equity and perhaps making its pursuit of additional funds easier.
December 10 -
Deborah Wright, who is set to retire as Carver's CEO at year-end, says the New York bank is preparing new products to reach underserved parts of the city. While she says community development banks should merge, Carver has no immediately plans to roll them up.
December 9 -
The end of the year is a busy time for closing bank acquisitions at least buyers are hoping that is the case. With the average deal taking about 120 days to complete, there are plenty of banks anxiously awaiting a call from regulators.
December 5 -
A recent report from Sterne Agee included a list of banks with similar traits to sellers in pending deals. Such traits, including aging CEOs and substandard returns, could portend future sellers.
December 1 -
The acquisition of CapitalSource has pushed PacWest's capital from full to overflowing. With diminished interest in M&A, the Los Angeles company recently doubled its dividend, while analysts expect management to award a special payout in the future.
November 21 -
John Hairston, set to become the Mississippi company's sole CEO, said Carl Chaney was not forced out as co-CEO. Still, he said the departure allows Hancock to streamline operations and become more efficient.
November 17 -
Kelly King of BB&T is an M&A trailblazer, but he isn't doing so intentionally. In announcing plans to buy Susquehanna Bancshares, King said he believes more bankers are becoming more confident maneuvering the choppy regulatory environment.
November 12 -
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency closed Frontier Bank FSB in Palm Desert, Calif.
November 10 -
Banks on opposite coasts Sterling Bancorp in New York and Banner in Washington are joining the list of institutions teetering on the $10 billion-asset threshold where a slew of new regulation kicks in. The banks' CEOs said they were finally able to peg the expected costs of reaching that size.
November 7 -
It has been three months since Bankwell Financial's CEO left abruptly. Some observers say it might make sense for Bankwell and others in a similar spot to consider selling while no change-of-control payout is involved.
November 6 -
Late Wednesday, Banner Corp. in Walla Walla, Wash., announced it would acquire AmericanWest Bank in a $702 million stock-and-cash deal.
November 5 -
MVB Financial and CFG Community Bank have terminated their purchase-and-assumption agreement, a year after announcing the deal.
October 31 -
Bank of Colorado in Fort Collins announced Friday that it is buying the $234 million-asset MontroseBank in Colorado's western slope.
October 31 -
The Florida company's business plan relies heavily on consolidation, but management hasn't announced a deal in more than two years. CEO Gene Taylor recently told analysts that M&A remains a focus, but the company will no longer discuss the topic until it has something to announce.
October 30 -
The $44 billion-asset specialty lender viewed its pending purchase of OneWest Bank as its way to get significantly over the $50 billion threshold for systemically important financial institutions. But CIT CEO John Thain is all for a proposal that would raise the SIFI bar higher.
October 28 -
Iberiabank is excited to add equipment finance and an SBA lending platform when it buys Old Florida Bancshares. The deal also gives the Louisiana company its first branches in Orlando.
October 27 -
Richard Davis, the head of U.S. Bancorp, is generally known for conservative, reliable guidance, but he is sticking by his rosy forecast for 2015 despite an economy with a lot of question marks and his bank's flat third-quarter performance.
October 22
