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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The rates commercial bankers pay for M&A advice were on the rise long before investment banks began to consolidate. Their future direction depends on the pace of bank deals.
February 15 -
Move over, Wintrust. MB is poised to end its three-year hiatus from dealmaking.
February 13 -
Quick decision-making, cash on hand and dedicated employees are musts for successful buyers of loan pools, experts said in analyzing CIT's recent purchase of $1.2 billion of loans.
February 12 -
Customers Bancorp in Wyomissing, Pa., will look to give its shareholders better liquidity this year, but it is not reconsidering an initial public offering.
February 6 -
Customers Bank is buying a commercial loan portfolio based in New England from Flagstar. The deal would reunite Jay Sidhu with some valuable former employees.
February 6 -
Flagstar has asked the Treasury to delay the sale of its Tarp shares, will have to pay more than $90 million in connection with a bond insurer's lawsuit, and announced the sale of more commercial loans.
February 6 -
A Chicago private-equity firm has acquired a mortgage company from a struggling Milwaukee bank.
February 5 -
Terminations of bank deals have dramatically slowed since 2009, when a third of the announced deals were called off. Still, buyers should give regulators a heads-up and leave ample time to finalize details.
February 4 -
Capitol Bancorp in Lansing, Mich., has moved a step closer to selling a troubled unit in New Mexico.
February 4 -
Add First Baldwin Bancshares in Foley, Ala., to the list of companies turning to bankruptcy as a way to stabilize banking units.
January 31 -
Western Alliance's deal for a small industrial loan company out of bankruptcy shows that old-fashioned financial deals still have appeal for shrewd shoppers.
January 31 -
Porter Bancorp (PBIB) in Louisville, Ky., has turned to Sandler O'Neill to help it recapitalize after another quarterly loss.
January 30 -
The valuation of United Bankshares' deal for Virginia Commerce — 1.8 times tangible book — is an encouraging sign for other sellers.
January 30 -
Charles R. Crowley and Michael C. Voinovich will open an investment banking office in Cleveland for Boenning & Scattergood.
January 29 -
Grandpoint Capital's plan to acquire its ninth bank in less than three years has been terminated, or possibly just iced for now.
January 29 -
Other acquisitive banks have dropped regional monikers, but Bank of the Ozarks in Little Rock, Ark., is focusing on service instead of rebranding, its CEO says.
January 28 -
The Little Rock, Ark., bank plans more deals in addition to its agreement to buy First National Bank of Shelby in North Carolina. Similar deals by other buyers could be on the horizon.
January 25 -
Greek mythology. Steve Martin movies. Clever use of the word "compost." CEO Ed Wehmer uses whatever he can to make his points to analysts.
January 24 -
Flagstar Bancorp (FBC) in Troy, Mich., reported its third straight quarter in the black.
January 24 -
Two dozen former mutual thrifts, including OmniAmerican, have reached or are nearing the end of a three-year ban from selling themselves. Let the M&A chatter begin.
January 23
