M&A: More of the Same in 2018

摘要

The Trump stock market rally since last year has created a false sense of excitement in bank M&A land. While announced deals priced nominally higher, deal activity was little changed compared to 2016 and remains below a busy 2014-15. This false excitement is borne out in deal volumes. Just over 200 deals were announced in 2017, representing roughly the same 3.5-4 percent annual shrinkage of bank charters that we've seen since the financial crisis. Most of that activity was small and mid-cap in nature. A handful of trophy-like, large-cap deals were announced, but no real momentum developed.