How are bank mergers/acquisitions different than corporate mergers/acquisitions in other industries, or are they?
The motivation for the corporate takeovers you read about in the newspaper is probably the same as the takeover for a bank: increasing market share, lowering expenses, earnings-per-share growth, acquiring specific products or geography. I don’t think the banking industry and other industries are much different from each other in this regard, because they all address the same constituents that is, their shareholders. If I am a commercial customer, and I hear or read that my bank is involved in a merger/acquisition, should I be concerned? Near and dear to most companies’ hearts especially middle-market companies is what’s going to happen to their credit relationship. For small to mid-sized companies, the bank can be their sole source of financing. Don’t overreact. Most people tend to think the worst: ‘I’m going to lose my line of credit,’ ‘I’m going to lose my loans.’ Make sure you talk to your relationship manager and his or her boss. You want to know information about the other bank an
