Ready, Aim ... Holding Fire on M&A
January 25, 2013 12:27 PM
Some banks have money to spend on deals. But many buyers are busy digesting past deals or wary about tight margins and the economy, executives said in fourth-quarter earnings calls.Related Links: 4Q Earnings Scorecard Six Blueprints for Bank M&A in 2013 (Image: Fotolia)
Feeling Pressure to Buy
"We hear loud and clear from people all over, analysts from all over the place, that the big focus is on capital deployment. We get it."Umpqua Brings Private Bank to Seattle and San Francisco
- Ray Davis, CEO of Umpqua Holdings (UMPQ)
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Baby Steps
"We're not spending any time worrying about big deals. We don't think big deals will happen. We'll be looking at a few little deals, but they are not going to be dramatic."BB&T's Earnings Rise on Mortgage Income, Increased Lending (Image: Bloomberg News)
- Kelly King, chairman and CEO of BB&T (BBT)
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Interested, But Cautious
"The competition for [failed-bank] deals will pick up, so we will play the game but we will be prudent."Wintrust to Buy First Lansing in Illinois for $39M
- Ed Wehmer, president and CEO of Wintrust Financial (WTFC)
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I Bought Another Bank Soon After ...
"It had been nine years since we had done our last live-bank transaction. ... [The recent purchase of Genala Banc] was a small, simple transaction that would be a good one to develop your model and work out any kinks."Bank of the Ozarks to Buy a N.C. Bank
- George Gleason, CEO of Bank of the Ozarks (OZRK)
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Standing Pat
"We are really more focused on just growing our customers in the markets that we are already in. ... We are not spending a lot of time looking around in the M&A space."Regional Banks Have No Time to Celebrate as Risks Loom (Image: Bloomberg News)
- James Rohr, CEO of PNC Financial Services Group (PNC)
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Are You a Buyer?
"We want to look at the opportunities that would increase our market share position in places we currently are at but would like more market share. ... Those opportunities exist in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey."Fulton's New CEO Wants to Focus on Growth Initiatives
- Phil Wenger, Chairman and CEO of Fulton Financial Corp (FULT)
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Limbering Up ... Slowly
"Everybody is starting to enter the ring, but we are still a little apart from touching gloves and fighting. …. The bid-ask is still wider than we would like."CVB Financial Founder Steps Down from Board
- Chris Myers, president and CEO of CVB Financial (CVBF)
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Threshold for Expansion
"I won't say that there wouldn't be a strategic opportunity [in Texas or elsewhere], but ... we would look at most [deals] as can you acquire it and put it in play at the same return as you could build it out over a period of time."Comerica Beats Estimates on Lower Costs and Fee Growth
- Ralph W. Babb Jr., chairman and CEO of Comerica (CMA)
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