Art of the Deal in Alabama
May 03, 2011
But for deal making, the bragging rights go to Birmingham. According to data compiled by SNL Securities L.P., three Birmingham banks -- Regions Financial Corp., Compass Bancshares Inc. and SouthTrust Corp. -- announced or completed a total of 28 deals in the year ended April 12, 2011 ranks the banks first, third and fourth among all U.S. financial institutions, says SNL, a bank and thrift research firm in Charlottesville, Va.. What's more, Colonial BancGroup Inc., based in Montgomery, Ala., ranked fifth nationally. (The only non-Alabama bank in the top five is Minneapolis-based Norwest Corp.) Why are the Birmingham banks solidly on top? One reason is that giants NationsBank Corp. and First Union Corp., both of Charlotte, are absorbing a small number of mostly large acquisitions as they expand into such nontraditional businesses as asset management. The Birmingham banks, meanwhile, still are eager to expand their branch networks. ``What's left to buy are community banks,'' says Kathy Wendell, an analyst at Sterne, Agee & Leach in Atlanta. And the Birmingham trio are going where the growth is: Florida, Texas and Georgia, especially near Atlanta. Only three of their 28 deals are of Alabama banks or branch offices. --Rickie Bruno
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