Street Talk

De novo banks, or newly formed institutions, were all the rage before the credit crisis but virtually dried up in the years after the Great Recession. The tide is finally beginning to turn, with investors seeking to open banks across the country. Randy Dennis, president of DD&F Consulting, who has helped charter close to 100 banks in his career, discusses the new class of de novos and believes there will be considerably more activity.

More banks are reaching further out the yield curve in their loan portfolios to meet customer demands but, increasingly, advisers believe institutions need to proceed with caution. In the episode, experts from PIMCO, Sandler O'Neill, Chatham Financial and PrecisionLender discuss rate risk and how banks focused on funding will ultimately prove the winners.

Blockchain has been touted as a revolutionary technology that change will financial services forever. But, so far, despite millions invested in research and development by incumbents, fewer use cases have emerged than some had expected. Tom Mason, fintech research analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence, explains how blockchain technology works and discusses its practical applications in financial services, while dispelling the notion that it will displace large institutions.

Deposits have become far more important to banks over the last year, particularly acquirers looking to bolster their funding bases. Given the change, Piper Jaffray analysts Matthew Clark and Will Curtiss say bank investors might find the greatest upside putting their cash behind would-be sellers with strong deposit franchises.

A new accounting provision changing the way U.S. banks reserve for loan losses will reduce the industry's capital by more than 10% and lead to greater volatility in earnings but might leave institutions better prepared for a downturn. Banks won't take the change in stride and are expected to respond by raising loan prices and slowing growth. Two colleagues from S&P Global Market Intelligence – Chris Vanderpool, a co-author of our bank projections, and Kiah Haslett, who reports on accounting issues – discuss the impact on the industry.

Banks across the U.S. continue to shrink their branch networks but one community bank, Citizens Bank of Edmond, has gone a step further and replaced physical locations with innovative strategies, including the creation of a street festival and a coworking space for customers. Jill Castilla, the bank's CEO, discussed the transformation and how it has paid dividends.

While tax reform will offer big boost to bank earnings, some bankers, including the CEOs of JPMorgan and Capital One, expect the windfall of profits to lead to increased competition. Fiercer competition could benefit consumers since they would receive lower prices on loans and higher rates on deposits but it would mean lower margins for banks, whose stocks have rallied on the prospect of higher profits.

A new accounting standard that changes that way banks reserve for loan losses might not sound that earth-shattering but it could lead to a capital shortfall as large as $70 billion across the banking industry. Josh Siegel, CEO of StoneCastle Partners, an investor and adviser to community banks, and Ethan Heisler, president of the Bank Treasury Newsletter, discuss the impact of new standard, dubbed the current expected credit loss model, or CECL.

We spoke with Rick Childs, partner at Crowe Horwath LLP, about tax reform's impact on bank M&A activity. While tax reform has caused bank stocks to rise and could make a number of deals easier to ink, a lower tax rate will make one aspect of bank acquisitions more expensive.

In the episode, we offer our updated and more bearish outlook for community banks. While community bank earnings are still poised to grow higher, largely due to a boost from tax reform, hopes for considerable margin expansion have been dashed.