I-Banker Will Work For Food

Bank Director Magazine had its annual "Acquire or Be Acquired" conference last week. Surprisingly, an investment banker from a regional investment banking firm opined that a flood of capital was going to enter the banking industry, triggering "hundreds of bank mergers". Well, given the chart below, his colleagues hope he is right. There is tuition to pay for the kids!



Baron Rothschild, during the financial markets panic of 1871 in Paris, was attributed to saying "buy when there is blood in the streets". Well, there is blood in the streets in banking. So this i-banker may be accurate when quoted as saying "There has never been a better time to be a buyer than right now".

Well, perhaps he is a little over excited. When there are half as many deals, there are half the transaction fees. Tough sledding for financial services investment bankers.

Do you think there is no better time to buy?