The August 2013 issue of Bank Watch is available now, and features articles by Jeff Davis, Madeleine Davis, and the announcement of an upcoming webinar on the recently finalized capital rules.
In the lead article of this month’s issue, titled “Specialty Finance Sectors Shows Signs of M&A Life,” Jeff Davis takes a closer look at recent M&A activity in the specialty finance sector, which covers a wide swath of companies, including mortgage banking, auto finance, premium finance and others.
Acquisitions of specialty finance companies by banks are not a panacea for challenges that face the industry; however, in some instances a transaction that is thoroughly vetted, well-structured, and attractively priced can provide the buyer a new growth channel while also obtaining revenue and earnings diversification.
Also included is an article titled “Evaporating Gains” by Madeleine Davis which analyzes interest rate trends in light of comments made by Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke in the second quarter of 2013.
Prior releases by the Federal Open Market Committee indicated that rate increases likely will not begin until the unemployment rate has fallen below 6.5%, assuming inflation projections remain in line with longer-term goals. Bernanke’s comments before Congress suggest, however, that some tightening of monetary policy could come earlier, through the reduction in asset purchases. In response to Bernanke’s comments, longer-term interest rates began to tick up through May and into June.
Finally, we announce an upcoming webinar, co-sponsored by Mercer Capital and Jones Day, titled Basel III Capital Rules Finally Final – What Does It Mean?
Much of the financial rulemaking following the financial crisis set its sights on the largest banks with the community and smaller regional banking sector unaffected or impacted indirectly. However, the new rules regarding capital represent some of the most consequential post-financial crisis rulemakings, affecting banks large and small. Finalized at last, the regulations provide direction for bank capital management decisions. This webinar, co-sponsored by Mercer Capital and Jones Day, reviews the final rules and assesses their impact on community banks.
This webinar will be presented on Thursday, August 29, 2013, at 12:00pm – 1:00pm (Central).
Register Now
Published monthly, there are five regional editions of Bank Watch. Regions covered are the northeast, the midwest, the Atlantic coast, the southeast, and the west. Each issue contains an article of interest to bankers and their advisors, public market indicators, M&A market indicators, as well as a regional peer group.
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