Dec 12, 2018
Key regulatory changes and business trends will drive bank mergers and acquisitions in 2019, two top bank deal lawyers say on the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast. In the episode, Jonathan Hightower and Rob Klingler — Atlanta-based partners at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner — outline what to expect in the year ahead, including:
- Larger deals in metro markets, driven in part by the lifting of arbitrary regulatory asset thresholds in S. 2155 and the lack of smaller acquisition targets in major urban markets.
- Acquisitions of smaller rural banks by investor groups and management teams seeking an alternative to de novo formation that provides a revenue stream from day one.
- More acquisitions by smaller community banks with solid deposit bases and greater flexibility to finance deals with debt.