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.
-
Rival bankers who operate in Chicago have been giving their takes some sarcastic, others serious, yet others cautious about the competitive effect of MB Financial's deal to buy Taylor Capital.
July 26 -
Receiving Wide Coverage ...Democrats Rally for Yellen: Roughly a third of Senate Democrats reportedly have signed a letter urging President Obama to appoint Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Janet Yellen as successor to Fed chairman Ben Bernanke. The Journal and the FT were not able to say exactly who or how many senators have signed the letter, which is being circulated by Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Tom Harkin say they've signed. Meanwhile, the Times and Barron's explore the gender politics between frontrunners Yellen and Lawrence Summers, Treasury Secretary during the Clinton administration. Both discuss the Obama administration's lack of women in top economic positions, while Barron's Greg Valliere calls Summers "famously prickly."
July 26 -
Normally low-profile PacWest CEO Matt Wagner could get a night gig emceeing roasts or appearing at an L.A. comedy store, a sometimes-lighthearted conference call revealed this week.
July 25 -
Executives of PacWest had become frustrated with the shortcomings of traditional, deposit-heavy banks when seeking M&A targets. They reached instead for the prospect of loan growth provided by commercial financier CapitalSource.
July 23 -
MB Financial was eager to buy Taylor Capital because of its commercial lending prowess, not its mortgage unit. However, private-equity firms are said to be in talks to buy the unit.
July 23 -
PacWest has agreed to buy CapitalSource for $2.3 billion, a transaction that would fulfill CapitalSource's longtime goal of becoming a full-fledged bank. It is the year's biggest bank deal.
July 22 -
Wilshire Bancorp is projecting cost savings of 60% for its deal with a Los Angeles rival, Saehan Bancorp. If it can pull that off, more intra-market deals among Korean-American banks could follow.
July 22 -
Associated Banc-Corp (ASBC) in Green Bay, Wis., announced second-quarter earnings of $47 million, up 12% from a year earlier thanks to higher net interest income and mortgage banking revenue.
July 19 -
Sidelined by the Fed this year, BB&T wants to get back to buying banks in 2014 provided the Fed accepts its updated capital plan. Its peers are more cautious.
July 18 -
U.S. Bancorp CEO Richard Davis' lack of interest in bank deals, and enthusiasm for M&A opportunities in the payments business, are signs of the times.
July 18 -
Customers are putting their cash to work, or at least taking it out of the bank, and bankers like U.S. Bancorp CEO Richard Davis think that could signal higher demand for loans down the road.
July 17 -
Florida Community Bank in Naples is partnering with Raymond James Financial (RJF) to offer its customers asset management services.
July 16 -
The "we are all buyers" mentality held by most of Chicago's large community banks changed when Taylor Capital agreed to sell to MB Financial for $680 million. It could signal the beginning of long-awaited consolidation in the Chicago area.
July 15 -
Republic Bancorp (RBCAA) of Louisville, Ky., hopes a deal for a small thrift owned by H&R Block will help it rebuild momentum it has lost in recent years.
July 12 -
Republic Bancorp (RBCAA) is increasing its stake in the tax refund services business by buying the banking operations of H&R Block (HRB).
July 11 -
Ask Roberto Herencia, the new chairman of Metropolitan Bank Group, about its well-placed ATM near one of the Windy City's most popular bars, and he'll probably smile.
July 11 -
The number of bank deals and the average sale price fell in the first half, but M&A activity could increase the rest of the year if investors keep bidding up the stocks of bank buyers.
July 10 -
Roberto Herencia, a veteran of bank recapitalizations, drew on tough lessons of the past to guide BXM Holdings' challenging recapitalization of Metropolitan Bank Group in Chicago.
July 9 -
John W. Allison of Home BancShares was on the prowl for a deal in Florida when a "game-changer" came up in its home state of Arkansas. He sacrificed geographic diversification for a local moneymaker. Was it the right move for the long term?
July 3 -
Prosperity Bancshares in Houston rarely participates in auctions, but CEO David Zalman was confident enough of his offer for FVNB to the bank solicit another bid. Zalman won, and Prosperity's investors embraced the result.
July 2
