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Bank Director’s annual Acquire or Be Acquired (AOBA) conference was marked by positive buzz. After all, bank M&A for 2019 came in at a four-year peak, the fastest pace in history.  But community bank acquisition strategies can’t be explained with a business-as-usual mindset. We all ...
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Many community bankers do not realize their own existing capital plans may be more stringent than the community bank leverage ratio (CBLR). We all know bankers like math. So read on to find out how I can prove that simply ignoring the CBLR—without proactive stress ...
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Many community banks have decided that the best course of action regarding the new community bank leverage ratio (CBLR) is the easiest: Do nothing. Keep the status quo.  After all, regulators have seen their capital plans and haven’t complained, so why change? But business as ...
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Our on-going analysis of the deposit dilemma shows some good news for community and regional banks, based on 2019 third-quarter data. But trouble still looms. Overall, community and regional banks showed signs of life for the first time in nearly two years in the transaction ...
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We have been preaching for two months that community banks must take seriously the decision whether to opt into the Community Bank Leverage Ratio (“CBLR”).  Our analysis suggests that it would be damaging to the vast majority of community banks to opt into the new ...
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As third-quarter 10-Qs roll into the Securities and Exchange Commission, one thing stands out:  Most public banks are contemplating whether it makes sense to opt into the new community bank leverage ratio framework. The new rule, which requires banks with less than $10 billion to ...
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September’s repo market problems were front page news.  But until JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon spoke up last week, no one knew why the banks did not step in as rates kept increasing, even though they had excess reserves. The reason: compliance with the Federal ...
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MOE Tips from CEOs: Culture, Excitement and Details Matter to Get the Deal Done MOEs require a different mindset and attitude, particularly on the part of CEOs. See “What Makes MOEs Unique—and How to Avoid Their Pitfalls” in this issue.  Here are some tips garnered ...
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Three Banks into One There’s a new $1.3 billion bank holding company in Georgia – and it’s the result of a merger of equals. Heritage Southeast Bancorporation came about as the result of a merger of three institutions, not two: CCF Holding Company, the parent ...
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