Jan 22, 2020
Increasing scarcity of both buyers and sellers will drive bank mergers and acquisitions in 2020, a top bank deal lawyer says on the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast. In the episode, Rob Klingler — an Atlanta-based partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner — outlines what to expect in the year ahead, including:
- Scarcity of selling banks, driven by a strong M&A pace in previous years and a paltry de novo pipeline. Banks that are less than 20 years old represent less than 10% of remaining charters, while banks that are over 100 years old — and thus less likely to sell — account for nearly half of charters.
- Increasing scarcity of buyers, as many fast-growing acquisitive banks have reached sizes where their interest in absorbing smaller community banks declines.
- Growth in non-traditional transactions, such as quasi-de novo organizers acquiring an existing charter.