Market volatility and a tougher business environment for banks have established the conditions for private investors to scoop up small banks.
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In Texas, separate investor groups are in the process of buying Eden Financial in San Angelo and Farmers State Bank in Shelby County.
In Cheyenne, Wyoming, a local acquirer is purchasing Wyoming Bank & Trust. And in Georgia, a group of unnamed investors from Jacksonville, Florida, is acquiring The Claxton Bank.
Six bank acquisitions that are backed by investors or private equity have been announced so far this year, according to data from S&P Global. That represents a small increase in the pace of such deals from last year and 2021.
So far this year, deals involving private investors make up more than 11% of all bank M&A transactions, which is the highest percentage since 2012, when they comprised more than 8% of all deals, according to S&P Global.
Smaller banks with less than $2 billion of assets, which typically do not have diversified business models, have emerged as the most likely targets of bank acquisitions this year, according to Frank Sorrentino, managing director of the financial institutions group at the investment bank Stephens.
"There's not a lot of levers for these banks to pull," Sorrentino said in an interview. "There's going to be an increasing amount of smaller banks seeking partners."
Here is a look at the six bank acquisitions by private investors that have already been announced this year. The financial terms of some transactions have not been made public.