How to find banks worth investing in (a thread most won’t tell you): 1.Forget the big names. Look at regional banks with <$50B in assets, less regulatory burden, better ROE potential, often trading at discounts. 2.Check the efficiency ratio. Under 55% is good, under 50% is

Plenty of community banks without much CRE exposure

When investing in community banks, avoid: Rapid asset growth that can’t be explained Heavy reliance on uninsured deposits (>$250k accounts) Out-of-territory aggressive lending Weak internal controls & insider dominance Bank fundamentals matter more than ever

Life after buying a growing bank under tangible book value.

If the CEO of a public you are invested in looks like this you might be in some trouble.

Investing in community banks is just adult Pokémon. You’re out here hunting $6M market caps with 2 branches, a CEO who still uses a flip phone, and a deposit base so sticky it should be regulated as glue. Catalyst? “Director turns 79 and gets tired."

I just wrote an article on Bank of Utica $BKUTK. One of the most fascinating small banks that I have ever looked at. I management ever decided to buy back shares, it would be one of the most accretive events in capital markets. I doubt the former will ever occur though.

I think there needs to be a course for guys running small banks. Lesson one: If your stock is trading materially below tangible book value, you buy back stock. Lesson two: refer back to lesson one.

Watching management teams pay a stupid 1.5% dividend when they are trading at 0.30x tangible book value.

Most people analyze big banks. Smart investors analyze small banks. Here’s what to look for in community banks that Wall Street ignores: 1. Net Interest Margin (NIM): This is their lifeblood. Above 3.5%? Healthy. Below 2.5%? They’re getting squeezed. Rising rates help, but

Kind of crazy the valuations some of these tiny banks can get when they drive ROE in the 20% range. Good managers there.

I published an investment report on Security Federal Corporation $SFDL. It is an ECIP bank and it appears they are moving forward with potentially repurchasing their preferred stocks for pennies on the dollar. If this occurs the math is extremely bullish to the upside.

Anything people want me to add here?

Credit unions have been buyers of banks in size recently. Huge tax synergies there. Will be adding credit unions to this map so we can figure out which banks primed to be taken out by credit unions next. Stay tuned!

Someone needs to send small bank CEOs a memo. Lesson one: ‘We’re well-capitalized’ is not a strategy. Lesson two: Refer back to lesson one.”

Dirt cheap banks > hot blonde women