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...
The Hidden Cost of Ignoring the CBLR
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...
The Community Bank Leverage Ratio: What if My Bank Does Nothing?
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...
Deposit Dilemma 2019 Third-Quarter Scorecard: Transaction Accounts Return, Community Banks Continue to Lag
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.
The Business Case for a Careful Consideration of the Community Bank Leverage Ratio
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...
Connecting the Dots: What Repo Market Turbulence Means to Community Banks
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...
Deposits Becoming a Zero-Sum Game for Community Banks
The growing deposit crisis for community banks is not going away. The problem is a strategic issue—and easy money policies only buy banks time, they don’t solve the dilemma. Invictus Group’s proprietary analytics, powered by...
Deposit Wars: A Breakdown of Key Trends in the First Quarter of 2019
Deposit growth in the banking industry has become a zero-sum game for all intents and purposes. Several months ago we published a white paper that revealed the deposit dilemma appeared more serious than anticipated, based on 2018...
When it Comes to Valuation, it’s the Quality of Your Bank Earnings that Count
The quality of a bank's earnings has an overlooked impact on valuation, according to an Invictus Group analysis of publicly traded bank stocks. We all know that trading multiples of publicly traded banks are driven by asset size...