Sponsors

Used by over half the Fortune 100, BoardVantage is making the paperless boardroom a reality.  As leaders in secure mobility, we’re setting the bar for a rich director experience, and as experts in process capture, we are driving the shift from book access to board process.  BoardVantage consistently meets the security standards of enterprise IT departments, including those of global financial institutions. For more information, visit www.boardvantage.com.

AHT Insurance was founded in 1921 and is recognized as one of the “100 Largest Brokers of U.S. Business” as ranked by Business Insurance magazine.  The firm is a full service insurance brokerage, risk management, employee benefits, surety bond and retirement planning services organization dedicated to providing innovative solutions globally for business and individuals.  AHT is employee-owned and one of the largest independent insurance brokerages in the nations, with offices in Virginia, D.C., Newark, New Jersey and Seattle, Washington.  AHT is a partner of the RiskProNet and TechAssure global broker networks.  For more information, visit www.ahtins.com.

Alston & Bird is an international law firm with more than 800 attorneys providing a full range of services to domestic and international clients conducting business around the world. The industry knowledge and regulatory capacity of its 250 corporate, regulatory and policy attorneys bring critical value to client relationships. The BTI “Masters of the Deal” list, a survey of law firms’ corporate relationships, ranked Alston & Bird fifth among U.S. law firms. Alston & Bird has been ranked on FORTUNE’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for 13 consecutive years, including placement in the top 25 for seven consecutive years. The recognition speaks to the culture of the firm and the environment in which the firm practices law.  For more information, visit www.alston.com.

Capitalizing on its deep industry knowledge and operating experience, Artisan Advisors provides the community banking industry a trusted,results-oriented source for executive level and operational advisory services.  From strategic planning, capital formation and regulatory response to loan loss allowance and asset liablity program evaluation, Artisan Advisors can assist bank management by recommending and implementing pratical, well-crafted solutions that effectively address the myriad of challenges that community bankers face in today’s complex operating enviroment.  Built by bankers for bankers, Artisan Advisors provides its clients the ability to stay at the leading edge of banking trends through personal access to the firm’s managing members and directors, all of whom have succeeded in leadership roles in the community banking industry.  For more information, visit www.artisan-advisors.com.

AST Phoenix Advisory Partners is a corporate governance consulting and proxy solicitation firm. The firm provides year-round corporate governance consultation and advisory services to all its clients, including full service traditional proxy solicitation, bank and thrift conversion solicitations, mergers & acquisitions, tender offers, information agent services, shareholder activism advisory services, and proxy contests.  For more information, visit www.phoenixadvisorypartners.com.

Austin Associates, LLC is a leading provider of investment banking, strategic consulting, and financial management services to community banks.  Austin has consistently ranked among the top investment banking firms to community banks.  According to SNL Securities, from 2005 to 2009, Austin ranked 6th in announced whole-bank M&A transactions.  In addition, Austin consults with financial institutions in strategic planning, capital planning, asset/liability management, profitability analysis systems, loan pricing models, executive compensation programs, bank insurance services and risk management and compliance consulting.  For more information, visit www.austinassociates.com.

Baird Holm, LLP is a leading provider of M&A and other legal services for financial institutions.  Based out of Omaha, Neb. and serving clients across the country, we routinely assist banks and bank holding companies with mergers and acquisitions and capital raises, as well as a wide variety of complex lending, depository, compliance and regulatory matters.  For more information, visit www.bairdholm.com.

The BancAlliance network is a shared commercial and industrial (C&I) loan platform that identifies, evaluates, and refers loan opportunities to its community and regional bank members. It enables members, the banks that direct the network’s activities, to both acquire high-quality commercial and industrial loans and develop relationships with larger borrowers in their market. BancAlliance has more than 50 member banks with over $2 billion allocated to the program.  For more information, visit www.bancalliance.com.

Barack Ferrazzano is a law firm with a business oriented approach to handling client needs, including complex, time sensitive or high stakes matters. One of the firm’s primary areas of practice is the financial services industry, encompassing the entire spectrum of issues confronted by a financial institution.  The firm has represented over 250 financial institutions across the country in recent years and has ranked in the top 5 law firms in the nation in number of bank merger and acquisition transactions announced during the past five years. The Financial Institutions Group has national experience in regulatory and troubled bank issues, debt and equity financings, de novo banks, financial products and services, as well as an extensive executive compensation and employee benefits practice with a focus on the unique needs of financial institutions.  For more information, visit www.bfkn.com.

BFS Group works exclusively with financial institutions to create and manage supplemental benefit plans for top executives and directors.  With over 75 years of combined experience in the banking industry, BFS Group is uniquely qualified to design and administer meaningful benefit plans while positively impacting the bottom-line through specialized BOLI financing strategies.  For more information, visit www.bfsgroup.com.

BMO Capital Markets and BMO Harris Bank are members of BMO Financial Group (NYSE, TSX: BMO), one of the largest diversified financial services providers in North America with US$526 billion  total assets and more than 46,200 employees as of October 31, 2012.  For more information, visit www.bmocm.com.

Bryan Cave is an Am Law 100 law firm with more than 1,100 lawyers and other professionals in 24 offices around the world.  Members of our financial institutions group have represented hundreds of banks across the country in matters related to every aspect of the financial services industry.  For more information, visit www.bryancave.com.

Commerce Street Capital, LLC is a private investment banking firm headquartered in Dallas, Texas.  Founded in October 2007 and led by veterans of the banking industry, CSC specializes in investment banking services (mergers and acquisitions, valuations and regulatory issue advising) and bank development (onsite consulting and management of capital raising, market assessments, application development, board of director placement).  The firm provides tailored solutions for all or part of a financial institution’s business lifecycle.  For more information, visit www.commercestreetcapital.com.

Everyone now acknowledges that solid underwriting and portfolio management fundamentals are critical to a sound credit culture. Credit Risk Management, LLC (CRM) has helped solve and prevent loan portfolio challenges for both community and regional banks since 1989.  We listen first in order to understand your unique circumstances and then establish a plan that works for your situation.  We are peerless in both the banking experience we bring and the CRM integrated suite of risk management tools we offer.  We continue to provide comprehensive credit related services to banks and other lending institutions throughout the USA in order to make those objectives more manageable.  For more information, visit www.creditriskmgt.com.

Crowe Horwath LLP is one of the 10 largest accounting and consulting firms in the U.S., providing audit, financial advisory, risk consulting, tax and performance services to more than 1,100 financial institutions.  Crowe works with financial institutions of all sizes, from denovos to multi-billion dollar holding companies, to provide financial statement audits, implement effective internal controls, manage risk, and improve financial performance.  For more information, visit www.crowehorwath.com.

Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP regularly assists banks, investment banks, private equity groups and other bank investors in all types of strategic mergers, acquisitions and dispositions. Our lawyers have built a reputation for innovation and creative problem solving, and Chambers USA has consistently ranked Davis Polk in the 1st tier for Financial Institutions M&A nationwide.  For more information, visit www.davispolk.com.

Day Pitney LLP has more than 300 attorneys located in offices in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Boston and Washington, D.C.  The firm represents banks and bank holding companies in bank regulatory matters, capital raising, FDIC-assisted transactions and mergers and acquisitions.  Day Pitney assists clients in M&A due diligence, including regulatory compliance and BSA/AML issues; employee benefits and executive compensation; intellectual property; real estate and environmental issues; securities law; and corporate fiduciary issues.  The firm serves as SEC and regulatory compliance counsel to both banks and bank holding companies.  It also serves as counsel to audit committees and compensation committees.  For more information, visit www.daypitney.com.

FIG Partners, LLC is an employee-owned broker/dealer specializing in bank and thrift stocks.  The firm’s mission is to generate superior returns for both investors and community banks through integrated research market making, capital raising, strategic advisory and sales.  The firm believes in listening to clients first,  offering a different level of sincerity which it believes is often lost at large Wall Street firms.  For more information, visit www.figpartners.com.

FinPro, Inc. was established in 1987 as a merger and acquisition and management consulting firm, specializing in the financial institutions industry.  The firm is nationally ranked in mergers and acquisitions and is a proven leader in strategic planning, market feasibility, de novo bank formation, asset/liability management, enterprise risk management and regulatory consulting.  FinPro maintains close contact with the bank regulatory agencies.  With a combination of its regulatory expertise and entrepreneurial solutions, FinPro provides strategies to maximize value while working within the regulatory framework.  FinPro principals teach M&A classes at various banking schools and are frequent speakers at financial institution and regulatory conferences.  For more information, visit www.finpronj.com.

Graham & Dunn PC is an industry-focused law firm based in Seattle, with a primary focus on the financial services industry. With a client list of more than 50 financial institutions in the West, the Graham & Dunn team offers breadth and depth of industry knowledge, and a proven track record representing financial institutions. From operations to acquisitions, regulatory enforcement and compliance, SEC compliance and corporate governance, lending to litigation, and formation to financing, Graham & Dunn puts their knowledge, innovation, and credibility to work to ensure that your business makes the most of its money.  For more information, visit www.grahamdunn.com.

Grant Thornton LLP is the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd, one of the six global audit, tax and advisory organizations providing personalized services to clients in over 100 countries.  Grant Thornton established a National Financial Services Industry Practice composed of a dedicated team of industry professionals and senior partners who have served in various C-suite executive roles in the banking and mortgage banking industries, as well as former bank regulators.  This experience enables us to provide a unique, strategic perspective on current industry matters and help our clients resolve issues and identify opportunities.  For more information, visit www.grantthornton.com.

Griffin Financial Group is an investment bank which assists financial institutions in understanding their strategic and financial alternatives in a rapidly changing environment, raising capital and in buying and selling banks and related businesses.  Griffin understands a financial institution’s needs from the perspective of bank executives and board members. Many of the firm’s professionals are former senior executive officers of both large and small depository institutions with hands-on governance, operating and transactional experience. In addition, our in-house financial accounting and tax capabilities are unique among investment banks specializing in the financial institutions sector.  For more information, visit www.go2griffin.com.

The Hovde Group is a leading U.S. financial advisory group that provides a full-service suite of investment banking, capital markets and financial advisory services focused exclusively on the banking & thrift industry.  As a leading specialist in the banking sector for over 25 years, The Hovde Group consistently ranks among the top firms in mergers and acquisitions and capital markets transactions for U.S. – based bank and thrift institutions.  The Firm’s expertise extends to a wide range of strategic M&A transactions, including asset purchases and dispositions, restructurings, recapitalizations and reorganizations, mergers, branch divestitures, FDIC acquisitions, and other strategic affiliations and transactions.  For more information, visit www.hovde.com.

The Financial Institutions group at Hunton & Williams LLP represented more banks in M&A transactions than any other group over the last 12 years including the most such transactions through 9/30/12.  They represented the first and last shelf charters.   The firm also represented over 20 buyers of failed banks as well as buyers of problem banks.  For more information, visit www.hunton.com.

Invictus is the leading provider of capital stress testing and capital adequacy advisory services to banks and their stakeholders.  Invictus provides customized stress tests to banks to minimize regulatory capital, augment strategic planning including M&A, and comply with regulations/best-practices.  Invictus provides forward-looking analytics on 7000+ banks to regulators, bank D&O insurers, and bank investors.  For more information, visit www.invictusgrp.com.

Jefferies, the global investment banking firm, has served companies and investors for over 50 years. Headquartered in New York, with offices in over 30 cities around the world, the firm provides clients with capital markets and financial advisory services, institutional brokerage and securities research, as well as wealth and asset management.  For more information, visit www.jefferies.com.

Jones Day is a global law firm with 15 U.S. offices and 21 foreign offices.  We represent financial institutions that are global to local in size, including banks, holding companies, investment banks, PE and hedge funds, institutional investors, broker- dealers and investment advisors.  Our services include: Capital raising, securities and investments; M&A; Corporate governance, regulatory, and Dodd-Frank and CFPB compliance and enforcement; Litigation, including M&A, securities, derivatives and mortgages and consumer violations; and Lending and commercial finance.  For more information, visit www.jonesday.com.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW) is a full-service boutique investment bank that specializes exclusively in the financial services sector. KBW operates in North America, Europe and Asia, providing institutional and private investors and financial service companies with research, equity and fixed income sales and trading, as well as capital raising and strategic advisory services.  Founded in 1962, KBW is recognized as a leading authority and research resource on banks, insurance companies, broker dealers, mortgage companies, asset management firms, specialty finance companies and REITs.  KBW went public in 2006 and its stock is traded on the NYSE under the symbol “KBW”.  For more information, visit www.kbw.com.

Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP is a full-service law firm with nearly 650 attorneys.  The lawyers in our financial services practice group represent banks and other financial institutions on a wide variety of matters.  We offer a great depth of knowledge and experience in the areas of employee benefits and director and executive compensation, mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt offerings, holding company reorganizations, enforcement and director/officer liability matters, consumer law issues, financial privacy and electronic banking.  Our lawyers understand the business impact of our clients’ legal matters and work with them to develop solution-oriented approaches.  For more information, visit www.kilpatricktownsend.com.

Locke Lord is a full-service, international law firm.  Our team of 650 attorneys has earned a solid national reputation in complex litigation, regulatory and transactional work.  We serve our clients’ interests first, build collaborative relationships and craft creative solutions to solve problems – all designed and executed with long-term strategic goals in mind.  For more information, visit www.lockelord.com.

Luse Gorman is a Washington, D.C. – based law firm specializing in representing community banks, savings banks and other financial services providers.  A significant part of its practice involves advising public and privately held clients on mergers and acquisitions, capital raising transactions, corporate reorganizations, executive compensation and employee benefits, and regulatory compliance and enforcement matters before the federal and state banking agencies.   Luse Gorman is recognized as a national leader in advising community banks on equity offerings and mergers and acquisitions, and the firm has consistently ranked in the Top 10 law firms nationally in representing banks, savings banks and their holding companies on mergers and acquisitions and stock offerings.  For more information, visit www.luselaw.com.

McGladrey’s Depository Institutions Group offers deep understanding of the challenges and complexities financial institutions face.  Their team serves more than 2,000 financial institutions nationwide making this one of the largest industries they serve as a firm.  For more information, visit www.mcgladrey.com.

Mercer Capital is one of the largest independent business valuation and financial advisory services firms in the nation.  Its ability to understand and determine the value of a financial institution is the cornerstone of the firm’s services and has been its core expertise since its founding.  The firm’s financial institution valuation services include:  Bank and Financial Institution Valuation; Bank ESOP Valuations; Valuation for Financial Reporting; Goodwill Impairment Testing; Valuation for Tax Compliance; Transaction Advisory Consulting; Loan Portfolio Valuation; and Capital Raising Consulting.  Mercer Capital has years of experience assisting financial institutions with significant corporate valuation, transactions and other strategic decisions.  Mercer Capital has provided hundreds of sound, well-documented financial analyses and valuation options for financial institutions, large and small.  In addition, the firm has a wealth of transaction experience helping clients with over 100 mergers, acquisitions, recapitalizations and other substantial transactions. For more information, visit www.mercercapital.com.

During the last 20 years Meyer-Chatfield has grown from a highly-respected BOLI specialist to a comprehensive solutions company. We work with C-level executives in the banking industry and their Boards to create unique earning opportunities, craft compensation programs and develop turn-key administrative solutions that positively impact the bottom line.  For more information, visit www.meyerchatfield.com.

OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM) operates Open, Transparent and Connected financial marketplaces for 10,000 U.S. and global securities. We organize these securities into marketplaces to better inform investors of opportunities and risks – OTCQX® – The Intelligent Marketplace for the Best OTC Companies; OTCQB® – The Venture Marketplace; and OTC Pink® – The Open Marketplace.  For more information, visit www.otcmarkets.com.

Since 1989, Pearl Meyer & Partners has served as an independent advisor to boards and senior management on compensation and governance issues.  Their hundreds of banking clients range from de novo to regional and international institutions, and from mutual or privately-held banks to publicly-traded commercial banks and thrifts.  For more information, visit www.pearlmeyer.com.

PricewaterhouseCoopers provides industry-focused assurance, tax and advisory services to build public trust and enhance value for its clients and their stakeholders.  More than 163,000 people in 151 countries across its network share their thinking, experience and solutions to develop fresh perspectives and practical advice.  “PricewaterhouseCoopers” and “PwC” refer to the network of member firms of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited (PwCIL).  Each member firm is a separate legal entity and does not act as agent of PwCIL or any other member firm.  For more information, visit www.pwc.com.

Raymond James & Associates, Inc. is one of the nation’s largest full-service investment firms and operates nationwide through over 6,000 financial advisors.  Client assets under management exceed $370 billion.  The firm makes active markets and provides equity research on over 1,000 publicly- traded companies.  The Financial Institutions Group specializes in serving banks, bank holding companies and thrift institutions in underwritten public offerings, private placements, mergers and acquisitions, takeover defenses and fairness opinions.  For more information, visit www.raymondjames.com.

River Branch Capital LLC is the broker dealer arm of River Branch Holdings LLC, an international merchant bank, founded to provide differentiated solutions in Investment Banking and Investment Management. With well over 100 years of combined expertise, River Branch offers its partners insightful knowledge, hands-on experience and long-term relationships.  For more information, visit www.rbhllc.com.

Sandler O’Neill + Partners, L.P. is a full-service investment banking firm and broker-dealer focused on the financial services sector. The firm provides the full suite of investment banking services, including merger and acquisition advisory, capital markets, fixed income and equity trading and sales, equity research, balance sheet management, mortgage finance, and consulting services.  Sandler O’Neill is a partnership, and different by design. Since the firm’s founding in 1988, it has sought to provide banks, thrifts and other financial services companies with an alternative to large Wall Street banking firms. The firm’s focus has always been on enhancing clients’ franchise value.  For more information, visit www.sandleroneill.com.

SBA Complete is a full service SBA Outsource solution for financial institutions. The company acts as a seamless extension of your organization, providing a streamlined experience from start to finish. They specialize in every aspect of the SBA lending process, from sourcing loans, to loan structuring and eligibility, through SBA approval, closing, sale of the guarantee, servicing and, if necessary, liquidation.  Lending institutions can immediately benefit from one of the most profitable activities available to financial institution by partnering with SBA Complete. With no upfront cost or overhead, your bank can add SBA lending as one of its profit centers.  For more information, visit www.sbacomplete.com.

SecondMarket partners with banks to create a centralized bank-controlled market for its shares.  By having an on-going secondary market a community bank can attain more liquid stock and better position itself for growth.  Advantages of the program include; respond to shareholder demand for liquidity; improve ability to raise outside capital by providing incoming investors with a clear path to liquidity; create a more liquid currency for acquisitions; mitigate the administrative burden and liability of facilitating the transfers internally.  SecondMarket is the largest secondary market for private company stock, having completed over 1,000 transactions representing more than $1.25 billion.   SecondMarket is a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA.  For more information, visit www.secondmarket.com.

Sheshunoff & Co. Investment Banking, a premier community bank financial advisor, has acted as financial advisor in more than 250 transactions.  Sheshunoff has helped institutions nationwide optimize shareholder wealth with merger and acquisition advisory services, valuations, capital restructuring and strategic options assessment for more than 30 years.  Its professionals are dedicated to providing integrity driven services.  Sheshunoff knows community banking better than anyone.  For more information, visit www.smslp.com.

For more than 20 years, SNL has been recognized as the gold standard for banking data, news and insight. Clients ranging from small community-focused banks to super- regional institutions use SNL on a daily basis to make important strategic decisions. SNL’s leadership in the sector comes not only from the quality and timeliness of our data, but from our interactive platform that makes the data so easy to use.SNL’s tools empower over 1,500 depository clients to perform sophisticated peer, performance, branch and market analysis.  For more information, visit www.snl.com.

Sterne Agee & Leach, Inc., member NYSE/FINRA/SIPC, is a full-service investment banking firm. Founded in 1901 and based in Birmingham, AL, Sterne Agee’s goal has been to provide its institutional and retail clients with superior financial products, services and advice.  Sterne Agee’s FIG practice assists its nationwide client base with merger and acquisition advisory, capital raising, balance sheet management and equity sales, trading and research.  For more information, visit www.sterneagee.com.

Stifel Nicolaus Weisel is one of the nation’s premier middle market investment banks within full-service investment firm Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated.  The firm’s institutional group provides high-caliber research, investment banking, and other capital markets services to banks and other middle market companies and its wealth management group has in excess of $125 billion in assets under management.  For more information, visit www.stifel.com.

Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP is a 330-attorney law firm, focusing in many legal areas with an emphasis in representing financial institutions.  The firm maintains offices throughout the Midwest, as well as Phoenix and Washington D.C.  The firm has experience in many aspects of the financial services industry including acquisitions of assets and deposits of failed banks, commercial lending, creditors’ rights and bankruptcy, mergers and acquisitions, and regulatory enforcement actions, among others.  For more information, visit www.stinson.com.

StrategyCorps provides consumer checking solutions that deliver significant customer-friendly fee income while also connecting with your customers in a way that no other checking account can. Their top performing solution, BaZing (rhymes with Cha-Ching), smartly incorporates a local/small business growth program, an innovative smart phone app and purposeful social media. The results: creating $75 of annual new fee income per checking account that your customers gladly pay; fixing your unprofitable accounts and protecting your profitable ones that generates significant new profit; providing a checking solution that helps your small business customers grow; and, crushing your competition.  For more information, visit www.strategycorps.com.