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 >
News & Insights
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 >
Birmingham Area Economic Report, Q4 2018
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 chart below shows a snapshot of… Read More >
PW&Co Advises Trinity Bank in Merger
River Financial Corporation of Prattville, AL and Trinity Bancorp, Inc. of Dothan, AL announced today the signing of a definitive agreement under which River and Trinity will enter into a strategic merger to combine two well-respected banking franchises and create a $1.25 billion institution operating in several of Alabama’s largest markets. The deal consideration is… Read More >
Municipal Market Update – May 2019
During May, US-China trade tensions increased, and the fixed income markets reacted negatively. Intermediate to long term treasury rates fell by almost a half of one percent, and the yield curve is inverted out to three years and gently sloping upwards thereafter. Interest rate futures markets are expecting two rate cuts now by January 2020…. Read More >
Long Term Portfolio Returns – January 2019 Update
In order to make sound investment decisions today, we are forced to make long term projections of portfolio returns. The methodology, assumptions, and original inputs for our approach to predicting long term portfolio returns are originally documented in our white paper titled, Projecting Long Term Portfolio Returns[1]. This paper updates the original with data as… Read More >
Municipal Market Update – April 2019
Our Municipal Market Update is data-driven, one page sheet that is intended to give you an overview of key interest rates – both floating and swap-to-fixed as well as the credit spreads of key local and state entities with data as of April 30, 2019. At the end of March, the yield on the benchmark 10-year… Read More >
What It Means To Be A Fiduciary Under ERISA
Overview The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) sets out comprehensive standards of conduct for those who manage an employee benefit plan and its assets. In addition to a specific person being named in the plan document, a fiduciary is defined in ERISA as someone who: 1) exercises discretion over the management of… Read More >
Planning for Charitable Giving
According to the National Philanthropic Trust,[1] approximately 90% of high net worth families give to charity, and in 2017, charitable giving accounted for 2.1% of gross domestic product. American families have historically given more money to charity than those in other countries, and charitable giving has become a fabric of our culture, a way to… Read More >
