A Letter to our Clients and Friends in the Financial Institutions Industry (Spring 2012)
Walt Moeling and Jim McAlpin spoke at the 2012 Acquire or Be Acquired Conference sponsored by Bank Director Magazine. Their topic was “The Path to Recovery – Building Value in a Changing Environment.” In preparation for their presentation at the AOBA conference, Walt and Jim surveyed a group of leading industry observers to obtain their insights. (A printer-friendly version of the Letter to Clients is also available.)
We thought you would be interested in what we heard this year in response to these questions, and the following is an excerpt from Walt’s and Jim’s presentation at the AOBA Conference:
Background
6,800 commercial banks (91% of all U.S. banks) have assets of less than $1 billion. Only 560 banks have assets between $1 billion and $10 billion, and only 106 institutions have assets greater than $10 billion. 2,500 banks (33% of all U.S. banks) have assets less than $100 million.
Both ROE and ROA for banks with less than $10 billion in assets improved in 2011, but still were about 65% to 70% of historical averages.
Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect U.S. GDP growth of just 2.3% for 2012. [The Wall Street Journal, December 22, 2011.]
2012 Bryan Cave Survey
We surveyed 50 industry thought leaders, including bank consultants and advisers, investment bankers and partners at private equity firms. We asked them to look forward over the next few years and give us their thoughts on factors considered by bankers and boards of directors when conducting strategic planning. We received more than 40 responses from across the country. Many of our respondents have allowed us to share their comments either with attribution or anonymously.
“What will be the pace of growth in the U.S. economy and in bank assets over the next 3 years?”
Survey respondents consistently predicted the pace of growth in the U.S. economy over the next 3 years to be between 2% and 3%.
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