Street Talk

Mar 31 2025 137 ep. 23 mins 133

Street Talk Podcast artwork

Nathan Stovall, director of financial institutions research at S&P Global Market Intelligence, takes a deep dive into issues facing financial institutions and the investment community. Tune in for interviews with industry insiders as well as brief outlooks for the banking sector.

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Ep. 137 - Two top community bank performers share their special sauce

Mar 31 2025 30 mins

Each year, S&P Global Market Intelligence ranks top-performing financial institutions in the following categories: community banks $3 billion to $10 billion in assets, community banks with less than $3 billion in assets, credit unions will more than $100 million in assets, and the top largest U.S. public banks by total assets. In another installment of Tales from Top Performers, ex

Ep. 136 – An activist’s view of the banking industry

Mar 03 2025 30 mins

Activist investor John Palmer sees plenty of catalysts for bank stocks, including stronger fundamentals, attractive valuations and a resurgence in M&A activity among regional and community banks. In the episode, Palmer, principal and managing member at PL Capital, discussed his firm’s investment approach, its successful history in running proxy campaigns and how its interactions

Ep. 135 - Takeaways from AOBA: Heavy dose of optimism as the deal window is open

Jan 31 2025 30 mins

The bank advisory community is optimistic that bank M&A activity will rebound in 2025 and they should be, according to Mercer Capital Managing Director Jeff Davis. In the episode, Davis discussed his takeaways from the annual Acquire or Be Acquired Conference, where scores of advisers shared their viewed for M&A activity to be materially stronger this year. Davis also discussed the

Ep. 134 - KBW CEO says bank stocks still have room to run

Dec 17 2024 33 mins

Investors have flocked back to the bank group over the last five months as the fundamental environment has improved and the election results in November added legs to the rally, according to KBW CEO Tom Michaud. In the episode, Michaud discussed improving investor sentiment toward the U.S. bank space, his firm’s expectation for banks’ earnings and credit quality in 2025 and 202

Ep. 133 - Six reasons for a brighter bank M&A outlook

Nov 27 2024 28 mins

The bank M&A pipeline has improved significantly over the past month, and capital is available for institutions looking to grow amid the surge in investor interest in the banking sector, according to Bill Burgess, co-head of financial services investment banking at Piper Sandler. In the episode, Burgess said there are six factors contributing to renewed interest in bank deals, par

Ep. 132 - How the 2024 election could reshape bank regulation and M&A

Oct 31 2024 30 mins

The U.S. election could change the legislative, supervisory and regulatory framework for the banking industry. In the episode, we discuss what different election outcomes could mean for banks with three guests focused on policy, regulation and rulemaking: Paul Merski, executive vice president, congressional relations and strategy at the Independent Community Bankers of America; Nao

Ep. 131 - Bank boards capitulating, pushing for scale to combat challenges

Sep 29 2024 32 mins

The operating environment remains challenging for many banks but experts at Raymond James’ annual whole loan conference in September 2024 noted there is a growing acceptance and willingness to pursue deals to counter headwinds facing the group. In the episode, three veterans at Raymond James – John Toohig, head of whole loan trading; Bill Sammon, head of financial services cap

Ep. 130 - How threatened are US banks by the wave of commercial real estate maturities

Aug 28 2024 27 mins

Rate hikes by the Federal Reserve and changes in post-pandemic behavior have put pressure on commercial real estate (CRE) borrowers needing to refinance loans coming due. The tally is nothing to sneeze at, with approximately $950 billion in CRE mortgages set to mature in 2024, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence's analysis of nationwide property records. In the episode, S&P

Ep. 129 - Investor sees inflection point in bank stocks

Jul 23 2024 28 mins

Bank stocks and regional bank stocks in particular have rallied over the last month and there is further room to run, according to Joe Fenech, Chief Investment Officer at GenOpp Capital Management. In the episode, recorded on July 16, Fenech said that sentiment towards bank stocks is improving and that the long bear market in bank stocks ended in May 2023. The investor argued that

Ep. 128 - Tales from Top Performers: South Plains Financial, Stellar Bancorp and City Holding Co.

Jun 19 2024 28 mins

Tales from Top Performers features conversations with executives at high-performing banks about their view of current issues, and the greatest challenges and opportunities they see ahead. This episode features executives from three of the highest performing banks in the country: Curtis Griffith, chairman and CEO of Lubbock, Texas-based South Plains Financial; Paul Egge, CFO of Hous