This month, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) held the target rate steady while long term US treasury rates declined, resulting in an inverted curve. Additionally, there are increasing probabilities in the futures market for multiple decreases in the target fed fund rate before the end of the year. Credit spreads on investment grade bonds… Read More >
News & Insights
Municipal Market Update – December 2019
This month, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted unanimously to hold rates steady and the US treasury curve steepened moderately. The current target fed funds rate is 1.5-1.75% and the probability of a rate cut in 2020 has decreased as predicted by the futures market. The swap curve steepened as well, experiencing a ~0.20%… Read More >
Municipal Market Update – November 2019
The Fed did not meeting during the month, and fed chairman Jerome Powell has signaled that they plan to maintain the target rate of 1.5-1.75% when they meet in December. Overall, there has been a small upward parallel shift in the US Treasury Curve and the US Swap Curve. The spread on A to AAA… Read More >
The Importance of an Investment Policy Statement
I. Overview A written investment policy statement (IPS) provides guidelines and directions for the conscientious fiduciary. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) does not include a specific requirement that plans have a written IPS. The concept of a documented IPS comes from the fiduciary duty of prudence established under both ERISA and the common… Read More >
Making the Most of Year-End Giving
As the year comes to a close, you may be thinking of making financial gifts in addition to trying to buy a relevant gift for the picky tween in your life. Here are a few guidelines for both charitable gifts and gifts to friends and family. I. Charitable Gifts With the passage of the Tax… Read More >
First Southern State-Vantage Merger Complete
On October 31, 2019 First Bancshares of Stevenson, Inc. of Stevenson, AL (“FBS”) and Vantage Bancshares, Inc. of Albertville, AL announced the closing of their merger which combines two well-respected banking franchises and creates a $525 million institution. The company operates 10 locations as First Southern State Bank (subsidiary of FBS) in four northeast Alabama… Read More >
Municipal Market Update – October 2019
During October, the Fed set the target Fed Funds rate to 1.5% to 1.75%, marking the third quarter-point rate cut this year. Despite pressure, the Fed has signaled that they would not be decreasing the target rate further during 2019, although futures markets indicate there is a 70% chance of a cut in the next… Read More >
River Bank-Trinity Bank Merger Complete
On October 31, 2019 River Financial Corporation of Prattville, AL and Trinity Bancorp, Inc. of Dothan, AL announced the closing of their merger which combines two well-respected banking franchises and creates a $1.30 billion institution operating in three of Alabama’s four largest markets. The deal consideration was a mix of cash and River common stock…. Read More >
Birmingham Area Economic Report, Q2 2019
This report explores a few key statistics that paint a picture of the Birmingham area economy. Our Birmingham Area Economic Report places the Birmingham area economy in a state, regional and national context. Click here to download the full report with a more in-depth look at the statistics. The charts below show a snapshot of… Read More >
What’s It Worth, Summer 2019
U.S. private equity deal activity remains robust and continued fundraising and private equity dry powder (funds raised but not yet invested) will drive competition and push deal prices upwards. Private equity firms continue to search aggressively for smaller deals in the lower middle market, which is often less competitive and lacks the strategic acquirer interest…. Read More >
Municipal Market Update – September 2019
The yield curve remains inverted to 10 years, as longer-term rates out to 30 years are hovering around all-time lows. The FOMC approved another quarter point rate cut this month over a split vote and will meet again in October. While the futures markets are predicting a high probability of further rate cuts this year,… Read More >
Municipal Market Update – August 2019
During August, the long end of the yield curve continued to decline and become more inverted, with the two-year US Treasury yielding more than the ten year. This is a negative signal on economic growth, likely due to the ongoing US-China trade tensions. Historically, the yield curve has inverted before every recession, but there hasn’t… Read More >
The Proposed SECURE Act and Your Retirement
Earlier this summer, the House of Representatives passed the SECURE Act (“Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement”) with bipartisan support and a nearly unanimous vote. As of the writing of this commentary, it stalled in the Senate, but reports show bipartisan support there as well. The proposed legislation (“the Act”) can be considered to… Read More >
Municipal Market Update – July 2019
During July, the FOMC voted to cut the current target fed funds rate by .25% to 2.0-2.25% for the first time since the Great Recession. Fed chairman Jerome Powell firmly expressed a level of optimism surrounding the current economic outlook in the US and stated concerns surrounding inflation and global economic growth as major factors… Read More >
CB&S Bank-PrimeSouth Bank Complete Merger
On July 31, 2019 CBS-Banc Corp. of Russellville, AL and PrimeSouth Bancshares, Inc. of Pike Road, AL announced the closing of their merger which combines two well-respected banking franchises and creates a $1.9 billion institution operating in three of Alabama’s four largest markets. The deal consideration was 100% cash. Other financial terms were not disclosed…. Read More >
PW&Co Advises First Southern State Bank in Acquisition
First Bancshares of Stevenson, Inc. of Stevenson, AL (“FBS”) and Vantage Bancshares, Inc. of Albertville, AL (“Vantage”) announced yesterday the signing of a definitive agreement under which FBS and Vantage will enter into a strategic merger to combine two well-respected banking franchises. The combined institution will be approximately $525 million in assets and will operate… Read More >
Municipal Market Update – June 2019
During June, the FOMC voted to maintain the current target fed funds rate of 2.25-2.5% despite vocal opposition from the outside. Threats of an inverted yield curve still loom although economic conditions are still holding up better than expected. Inflationary pressure remains largely absent as core inflation expectations (excluding food and energy) have decreased to… Read More >
What’s It Worth, Spring 2019
U.S. private equity deal activity and total transaction value dipped slightly in Q1 2019, but prices on completed deals remain elevated. Continued record-breaking fundraising efforts and private equity dry powder (funds raised but not yet invested) will likely continue to drive competition and push deal prices upwards. Private equity firms continue to search aggressively for… Read More >
