The investment banker calls with exciting news:
"We have eight banks interested in buying you."
Your heart races.
Eight serious buyers means competition.
Competition means better terms and higher prices.
But here's what no one tells you:
Not all interested buyers are actually interest...
The moment you hand over your customer list to a potential buyer, your stomach knots up.
What if they don't buy your bank?
What if they take this information and use it against you?
What if they start calling your best customers or try to hire your top employees?
You're trusting strangers ...
Picture this:
You're six months into a confidential bank sale.
Multiple buyers are interested.
Terms look great.
Then your phone rings.
"I heard you might be selling," says a competitor.
"We're hiring if any of your people want new opportunities."
Your heart sinks.
Word is out.
You...
You trust your general counsel.
They've helped you through regulations, loan problems, and legal challenges for years.
When it's time to sell your bank, your first thought is probably to use them.
That could be a costly mistake.
Why Banking Lawyers Aren't Bank Sale Lawyers
Your general co...
You walked into that first buyer meeting feeling confident.
You knew your bank inside and out.
You had good chemistry with the potential buyer.
But something went wrong.
They seemed interested at first, then cooled off.
The follow-up meeting never happened.
The deal died before it sta...
The phone call comes from your investment banker:
"We have three serious buyers who want to meet with you."
Your heart pounds.
This is it…
The moment everything you've built gets judged by strangers who could become your bank's new owners.
Everybody is counting on you to deliver.
Y...
Here's a fact that will shock you:
Many community bank CEOs choose their investment banker the same way they choose lunch – by convenience.
The result?
Deals that fall apart, values that disappoint, and CEOs who realize too late they picked the wrong partner for the biggest transaction o...
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 ...
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 ...
We all know how it works...
If you really want to buy something, you'll find a way to justify the purchase.
The same is true when selling.
If you're determined to sell, you'll find reasons why it makes sense.
This is where valuation becomes so important.
It slows everything down.
V...
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...
