Every bank director knows they have a duty to shareholders.
But when it comes time to sell your bank, that duty gets put to the ultimate test.
Here's the uncomfortable truth:
Many directors think they're doing right by shareholders when they're actually falling short of their legal responsi...
You've spent years building the perfect team.
Late nights, tough decisions, and yes—probably hiring a few people who didn't work out.
But now you have them: the stars who make your bank run like clockwork.
Here's the question that keeps successful bank CEOs awake at night:
What happens ...
Your most important job as a bank CEO might surprise you:
Make yourself replaceable.
Sounds backward, right?
But this surprising truth is key to making your bank worth more.
Why Your Bank Needs to Work Without You
Let me be straight with you:
If your bank can't run smoothly without yo...
Remember this fundamental truth:
Banks are bought, not sold.
Buyers acquire your bank because they believe their institution will become more valuable with yours added to it.
They care less about your past performance and more about the future potential you bring.
When two banks togethe...
If you could pinpoint the absolute best time to begin looking for a buyer for your bank, what factors would you consider?
In my experience, there's a specific alignment of events that creates what I call...
"The Golden Window of Opportunity."
This window opens when:
- Your safety & soundne ...
Did you know that even the gentlest bank acquisition creates massive cost savings?
Even when a buyer promises "no layoffs" and "business as usual," the financial magic of mergers still happens behind the scenes.
The Automatic Cost Savings Nobody Talks About
When two banks combine, cost savi...
Wondering when to sell your bank?
It's the question every bank CEO eventually faces.
The best advice I know comes from NYU Finance professor Aswath Damodaran and his famous story about lemmings.
This simple story perfectly captures why so many bank sales happen at exactly the wrong time.
...
Your bank has untapped growth potential locked inside it right now.
Potential that you can see clearly but haven't been able to fully capture due to your current size constraints.
Want to maximize your bank's value in a potential sale?
Start by thinking beyond your current limitations.
The...
What if I told you that thinking like a buyer is the key to getting the best price for your bank?
Here's a powerful exercise that changed how we saw our own bank's value:
Reverse engineering the perfect acquisition.
The Magic Wand Exercise
Imagine you have a magic wand that lets you buy...
Every bank sale is unique, just like the bank itself and the leaders who built it.
But I've found that successful bank sales follow a pattern.
This pattern matches what author Bo Burlingham describes in his book "Finish Big: How Great Entrepreneurs Exit Their Companies on Top."
Burlingham f...
Here's a simple truth:
You only sell your bank once, but you need to build its value every day.
Selling a bank isn't like selling a house.
You can't just add a fresh coat of paint and expect top dollar (see The Savvy Banker 064 – "Community Bank Hiring Success: 5 Strategic Steps That Maximi...
"You only sell your bank once."
I hear CEOs say this when they put off preparing for a sale.
But the truth is simple: While you sell just once, you need to build value every day.
Early in my career, investment bankers taught me something important:
The best bank sales happen because of sma...
