Street Talk

In banking, boring wins, according to veteran bank investor Joe Stieven. The CEO of Stieven Capital Advisors discussed what drives value and how community banks will remain relevant over the next decade at S&P Global Market Intelligence's annual community bankers conference. The investor said his 12-word philosophy has guided decades of capital allocation through COVID, rate cycles, Silicon Valley...

The post-WWII global order is entering a new era. In the episode recorded live at the S&P Global Market Intelligence's Annual Community Bankers Conference on May 6, geopolitical strategist and author Dr. George Friedman discusses the conflicts between the U.S. and Iran, and Russia and Ukraine, how America reinvents itself through instability, and the pivotal U.S.-China summit on May 14. Dr. Friedm...

A few blips tied to private credit and loans to nonbank financial institutions have weighed on the bank group recently and come at the same time at the group faced pressure over concerns that greater adoption of artificial intelligence could threaten many traditional jobs and ultimately lead to higher levels of unemployment. However, some bank analysts argue that both issues might be overblown and...

After years of trading at the steepest discount in the broader market—dead last among all major sectors—the banking industry is finally positioned to narrow that gap, according to KBW CEO Tom Michaud.  In the episode, Michaud said that the best fundamental environment in years, historic levels of excess capital, a once in generational change in the regulatory environment and rebounding M&A activit...

While large bank stocks have significantly outperformed their smaller counterparts over the last few years, the tide could finally be turning, according to Jonah Marcus, partner and portfolio manager at Endeavour Capital Advisors, Inc. In the episode, Marcus said there are positive tailwinds for the banking sector, including increasing bank M&A activity, net interest margin expansion and deregulat...

Bank stocks are trading at their cheapest levels relative to the broader market in a decade, but a confluence of catalysts, including rebounding M&A activity, deregulation and rate cuts by the Federal Reserve could finally unlock value for the sector, according to Mendon Capital's Anton Schutz Sr. and Anton Schutz Jr. In the episode, the father-son investment team discuss the current state of bank...

Despite ongoing economic uncertainty and investors' concerns about potential slippage in credit quality, U.S. banks delivered strong third-quarter results that beat expectations across the board. In the episode, Chris Nichols, Director of Capital Markets at South State, discusses third-quarter earnings trends, including   the continued resilience of consumer spending, the stabilization of credit q...

The world of cryptocurrencies has seen no shortage of upheaval, but regulatory clarity that has arrived with recent legislation is expected to lead to greater adoption of stablecoins. Some market participants and banks are worried the growth could lead to deposit cannibalization. In the episode, S&P Global Market Intelligence fintech analysts Jordan McKee and Sampath Sharma, and FIG Research Head...

While peak funding costs are in the rearview mirror, investors and bank acquirers continue to assign higher values to institutions with lower-cost deposit franchises. In the episode, S&P Global Market Intelligence analysts Nathan Stovall and Zain Tariq discuss which banks have the strongest deposit franchises, what attributes they have and how deposits continue to drive valuation in the banking se...

Bank M&A activity is showing signs of life, and a much awaited rebound in bank deal activity could be in store.  In this episode, Christopher Olsen, managing partner at Olsen Palmer, shared his view of the bank M&A market and why community banks are selling at this point in the cycle. The veteran deal adviser said shareholder liquidity, and board and management succession remain significant driver...

InterBank President and CEO C.K. Lee runs one of the highest-performing banks in the country. The $4.7 billion, Oklahoma City-based bank has produced a pretax return on average assets of 3.30% or higher in each of the last five quarters and an S-Corp. adjusted ROAA of 2.60% or higher during each of those periods. The latter is more than 2x the ROAA generated by the community bank aggregate during...

Bank advisers and market participants at S&P Global Market Intelligence's annual community bankers conference said bank M&A and IPO activity is in a holding pattern and will pick up once there is greater clarity over the macroeconomic and interest rate environment. They also suggested that banks should avoid trying to position their balance sheets for particular rate moves and instead prepare for...

The emergence of tariffs led to a broad selloff of US banks amid fears of slower economic growth or even a possible recession. Banks' first-quarter earnings season showed strong performance before the onset of tariffs, but ultimately might have left investors with more questions than answers. In the episode, senior reporter Harry Terris shared the key takeaways from large banks' first-quarter resu...

Each year, S&P Global Market Intelligence ranks top-performing financial institutions in the following categories: community banks $3 billion to $10 billion in assets, community banks with less than $3 billion in assets, credit unions will more than $100 million in assets, and the top largest U.S. public banks by total assets. In another installment of Tales from Top Performers, executives from tw...

Activist investor John Palmer sees plenty of catalysts for bank stocks, including stronger fundamentals, attractive valuations and a resurgence in M&A activity among regional and community banks. In the episode, Palmer, principal and managing member at PL Capital, discussed his firm's investment approach, its successful history in running proxy campaigns and how its interactions with bank manageme...

The bank advisory community is optimistic that bank M&A activity will rebound in 2025 and they should be, according to Mercer Capital Managing Director Jeff Davis. In the episode, Davis discussed his takeaways from the annual Acquire or Be Acquired Conference, where scores of advisers shared their viewed for M&A activity to be materially stronger this year. Davis also discussed the improving funda...

Investors have flocked back to the bank group over the last five months as the fundamental environment has improved and the election results in November added legs to the rally, according to KBW CEO Tom Michaud. In the episode, Michaud discussed improving investor sentiment toward the U.S. bank space, his firm's expectation for banks' earnings and credit quality in 2025 and 2026, and the outlook f...

The bank M&A pipeline has improved significantly over the past month, and capital is available for institutions looking to grow amid the surge in investor interest in the banking sector, according to Bill Burgess, co-head of financial services investment banking at Piper Sandler. In the episode, Burgess said there are six factors contributing to renewed interest in bank deals, particularly followi...

The U.S. election could change the legislative, supervisory and regulatory framework for the banking industry. In the episode, we discuss what different election outcomes could mean for banks with three guests focused on policy, regulation and rulemaking: Paul Merski, executive vice president, congressional relations and strategy at the Independent Community Bankers of America; Naomi Camper, chief...

The operating environment remains challenging for many banks but experts at Raymond James' annual whole loan conference in September 2024 noted there is a growing acceptance and willingness to pursue deals to counter headwinds facing the group. In the episode, three veterans at Raymond James – John Toohig, head of whole loan trading; Bill Sammon, head of financial services capital markets; and Bob...

Rate hikes by the Federal Reserve and changes in post-pandemic behavior have put pressure on commercial real estate (CRE) borrowers needing to refinance loans coming due. The tally is nothing to sneeze at, with approximately $950 billion in CRE mortgages set to mature in 2024, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence's analysis of nationwide property records. In the episode, S&P Global Market I...

Bank stocks and regional bank stocks in particular have rallied over the last month and there is further room to run, according to Joe Fenech, Chief Investment Officer at GenOpp Capital Management. In the episode, recorded on July 16, Fenech said that sentiment towards bank stocks is improving and that the long bear market in bank stocks ended in May 2023. The investor argued that the recapitaliza...

Tales from Top Performers features conversations with executives at high-performing banks about their view of current issues, and the greatest challenges and opportunities they see ahead. This episode features executives from three of the highest performing banks in the country: Curtis Griffith, chairman and CEO of Lubbock, Texas-based South Plains Financial; Paul Egge, CFO of Houston-based Stella...

Deposits and liquidity remain at the forefront for most bankers and the intense competition for core funding will eventually lead to a resurgence in M&A activity. That was the message delivered by a variety of presenters at S&P Global Market Intelligence's annual community bankers conference on May 20 and 21, but they acknowledged that transactions face some challenges in the near term, including...

The investment community has expressed great concern over commercial real estate and questioned whether a severe downturn could lie on the horizon, but Rich Hill, head of real estate strategy and research at Cohen & Steers, is not in the camp. In the episode, Hill discussed the misconceptions about commercial real estate, the considerable differences in risk across various subcategories and how pu...