Breakout Session – Industry Update and Bank Pricing Trends

Deposit costs appear to have peaked and net interest margins are expanding modestly, but economic uncertainty is turning the spotlight toward asset quality.  A long-awaited rebound in bank stocks in late 2024 ran up against tariff volatility in 2025 but could still lead to improved bank M&A prices, as well as increased deal volume, reversing the M&A trends seen since 2023 which began with a few high-profile bank failures in March of that year.  To better inform banks as they plan strategically for the future, we will study the current trends in bank performance and valuation levels for bank stocks and M&A transactions after a period of historically weak M&A volume and pricing in 2023 and 2024.