- Key insight: After months of avoiding a public confrontation, United Bancorporation of Alabama is clapping back at two shareholders who demanded to join its board of directors.
- What's at stake: The clash at an Alabama community bank is the latest example of activist investors demanding major changes at banks in recent years.
- Expert quote: "Accommodating the Activist Group's unreasonable request, which did not even account for standard processes and timelines associated with director candidate vetting, would have been a rash decision." — United Bancorporation of Alabama
After months of pressure from a pair of activist investors, a community bank in Alabama has begun to push back.
One day after shareholders Jason Blumberg and Aaron Sallen
"We have engaged constructively on numerous occasions with the Activist Group, including during a video call on August 31st," the $1.4 billion-asset parent company of United Bank of Alabama said on Wednesday. "At no point during our meeting, or in any prior meetings, did Jason Blumberg or Aaron Sallen indicate they both would like to join the Board."
And yet, Blumberg and Sallen demanded board seats in an email sent "just hours" after the meeting, the bank said. The two investors, who together own about 2% of UBA's shares, allegedly also asked the bank to respond within seven days.
"United maintains that accommodating the Activist Group's unreasonable request, which did not even account for standard processes and timelines associated with director candidate vetting, would have been a rash decision and undermined the interests of investors holding the other 98% of United's outstanding shares," the Atmore, Alabama-based bank said.
Blumberg, the managing member of Blue Hill Advisors, and Sallen, the manager of Merion Road Capital Management, say they have expressed their concerns to UBA's leadership for years, but to no avail.
In July they
To solve these problems, the activists recommended a combination of stock buybacks, merger-and-acquisition activity, more vigilant expense control — and one or two new members on the board of directors.
Until recently, Blumberg and Sallen did not specify publicly who those new directors would be. But in an open letter they published Tuesday, they put their own names forward. And on Wednesday, in response to UBA's statement, they stood by their demand.
"Our directorship request stems from the Board's failure to articulate a clear strategic plan or respond substantively to the issues we've raised throughout our engagement and detailed in our July 7 letter," the two investors told American Banker by email. "We will continue to advocate for value creation on behalf of all shareholders, including the approximately 5.7% of shares collectively held by the directors."
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In its latest statement, UBA did not explicitly rule out appointing Blumberg and Sallen to its board. But it made clear that if this were to happen, it would be on the bank's usual time frame for vetting and seating directors.
"The Board regularly assesses its composition to ensure that it has the right skills and experience to advance the best interests of all stockholders," UBA said. "The Board intends to evaluate the Activist Group's request in alignment with its normal corporate governance framework."
The bank added that while it remains "open to ongoing engagement," it would not respond regularly to the group's "expanding and shifting demands."
In recent years, activist investors at banks have had a hit-and-miss record of bringing about major changes. In July 2025, an activist investor accused Comerica of "disastrous decisions" and urged the bank to
Until now, UBA had remained publicly circumspect about the pressure campaign it was facing. Before Wednesday's statement, the bank had not called out Blumberg and Sallen by name, and the one previous statement it issued on the subject, on July 8, was notably short on details.
"The Board and management team are always willing to evaluate the viewpoints of any investor," that statement said.
The bank's latest statement was different. UBA said it will act in the best interests of its shareholders, "including the approximately 98% of the Company's investor base unassociated with the recently formed Activist Group."
