Mergers of equals between banks usually garner a fair bit of
skepticism from investors, and the stocks often don't until there are
actual synergies evident in the reported results - a process that can
take a year or more
from the close of
the deal. Add in the unusual delays and uncertainty around bank merger
approvals now, and I can understand why Columbia Bank (NASDAQ:COLB) shares have underwhelmed since the announcement of the merger with Umpqua (UMPQ) a little more than a year ago, underperforming the average regional bank by a few percentage points. I
still like this merger, and I like that both Columbia and Umpqua have
posted fairly strong results heading into the close of the deal. Here of
late, Columbia has shown some strong results in growing their
commercial lending business and leveraging their high-quality deposit
base, and I believe that will serve both companies well in the future.
Read more here:
Columbia Bank Closing Strong Ahead Of The Merger With Umpqua
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