Recent banking deals
Regional banks get back into investment banking
After the 2000 stock bust, many regional banks got wary about the investment banking business, which sponsored merger and acquisitions activities. But according to a Wall Street Journal article ("Regional Banks Come Courting for Business", 9/12/06) they are starting to acquire again in that area.
As the article puts it "Following the lead of the industry's three big titans, two major commercial banks have bought small investment banks in the past year. Analysts see the start of a trend."
Wells Fargo, the #4 bank in the US by market value and a dominant player on the West Coast recently bought Los Angeles investment bank Barrington Associates. Barrington advises mid-size firms on M&As.
Pittsburgh's PNC Financial Services Group (#14 by asset value) bought Harris Williams, a mid-market investment bank located in Virginia.
That article quotes one analyst as stating:"What is happening is that the bundled-product model is coming more into the middle market. …You will see more consolidation between M&A boutiques ... and financial institutions."
Among the possible targets are such investment firms as Jefferies Group, Piper Jaffray Lincoln International, Sagent Advisors Inc., and Goldsmith Agio Helms.
The need for regional banks to get involve d in advising clients and gathering funding for mergers and acquisitions is that, increasingly the regional clients of these banks in a variety of industries, are doing more buying an selling, booth domestically and internationally.
As the article notes "many midsize companies aren't satisfied with their longtime regional banks simply lending them money, bankers say. With private-equity firms buying up more midsize companies, traditional loans and lockboxes aren't enough. Company executives and their private-equity backers want access to derivative products, interest-rate swaps, M&A advisers with global reach and many wealth-management options."
UK merger
UK banks Nationwide Building Society and Portman Building Society announced the UK's largest building-society merger ever. The deal will form the UK's #2- mortgage lender and #2- retail-savings institution.
Banco Santander in US
Banco Santander Spain's #1 bank by market value, announced it would acquire a 90% stake in US auto-finance firm Drive Financial Services. The deal is for $650 million. British bank HBOS sold its significant position in Drive Financial, which operates in 35 states.
Santander also owns a major stake in Philadelphia-based Sovereign Bancorp. It also reecntly bought Island Finance, a Puerto Rico-based consumer-finance company from Wells Fargo.
Sterling to buy Northern Empire.
Washington state-based Sterling Financial announced it would acquire California's Northern Empire Bancshares in a $335 million deal. The combined company will become a significant retail and mortgage bank on the West Coast.
8:05:24 PM 
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