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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Royal Bank of Scotland says it still plans to sell part of its interest in RBS Citizens later this year. American Banker examines various outcomes for the U.S. bank, ranging from an IPO to an outright sale.
April 2 -
M&A has been marked by the pursuit of earning assets in recent years, but banks that have cracked the organic loan growth code are looking to buy deposit-heavy banks before interest rates rise.
March 28 -
Platte Valley Financial Services in Scottsbluff, Neb., is buying a bank it played a role in forming.
March 26 -
Acquisition rumors about Royal Bank of Scotland's U.S. operations are swirling again.
March 24 -
Xenith Bankshares (XBXS) had been eager to enter the bustling Hampton Roads area. It plans to use Colonial Virginia, located close to the region, to make a beachhead.
March 24 -
Think M&A in Illinois is out of gas? Call AAA. Auto Club Group, one of the many AAA clubs across the country, has agreed to buy the $465 million-asset National Bancorp in Sycamore, Ill.
March 20 -
Regulators are laser-focused on compliance, particularly when reviewing merger applications. Associated, recently freed from an enforcement action, could use its clean bill of health to woo sellers.
March 19 -
Once thought of as cheap capital, Tarp is getting more expensive as the dividend rate jumps from 5% to 9%. Banks that are still in the program could see the increase as one more force pushing them to consider their options.
March 17 -
Analysts Joseph Fenech and Kevin Fitzsimmons have resigned from the research department at Sandler O'Neill.
March 14 -
The Florida company's initial backers made a lot of money from a 2009 government-backed deal. Still, BankUnited's PE backers say the final sale of their stake in the resurrected lender is bittersweet.
March 12 -
The Michigan company is buying Nortwestern Bancorp, fleshing out a major part of its franchise map. Though Northwestern's loan portfolio has been steadily shrinking, Chemical executives expect to generate double-digit loan growth from the seller's markets.
March 11 - PH
Silk Road Mom Hits SXSW; Wells Fargo Reverses P2P Ban
March 11 -
The Charlotte, N.C., bank offers a model for other community banks that have expanded quickly in recent years but face a pricier M&A market: focus on smaller deals that provide additional liquidity and plug geographic holes.
March 10 -
Many banks are eager to bulk up through acquisitions, but most have very specific criteria in what they want and are unwilling to settle for anything less, says McGladrey's Bob Browne.
March 4 -
Bryn Mawr Bank in Pennsylvania starts every acquisition discussion the same way: the top talent agrees to stay or Bryn Mawr is not interested in pursuing a deal. It's a lesson for anyone considering buying or selling a bank.
February 28 -
Serial bank acquirers might stop to catch their breath some times, but many realize that their next deal is always on the horizon. Three of those banks recently discussed their plans to return to M&A at a conference in Boston.
February 26 -
The Brooklyn company points to the recently announced merger of Rockville and United Financial in the New England, along with other deal, as evidence that similarly sized banks can reach agreement.
February 25 -
It has been a year after Stifel bought Keefe, Bruyette & Woods in a quest for more scale in the area of bank advisory services. Thomas Michaud, KBW's CEO, reflects on the past year and evaluates trends and forces in bank M&A and capital raising in coming months.
February 21 -
Umpqua Holdings and Sterling Financial are paying Banner $7 million to take the branches. Though negative bids are uncommon in healthy bank deals, it seems like a small price to get regulators to bless a $2 billion merger.
February 20 -
The company's management team is confident it can build off a beachhead, making its case by referencing past forays into Baton Rouge, La., and Houston.
February 18
