Sponsors

Used by over half the Fortune 100, BoardVantage is making the paperless boardroom a reality.  As leaders in secure mobility, they are setting the bar for a rich director experience, and as experts in process capture, they 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 is an insurance brokerage, risk management consulting, 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 nation, with offices in the Washington, D.C., Seattle, Washington and New York metro areas.  AHT is a partner of the RiskProNet and TechAssure global broker networks.  For more information, please visit www.ahtins.com.

Alston & Bird is a leading national firm whose core practice areas are corporate, tax, intellectual property and complex litigation, with focuses in financial services, energy, health care and public policy.  The firm has been ranked on FORTUNE magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for 14 consecutive years.  For more information, please visit www.alston.com.

Austin Associates, LLC is a leading provider of investment banking services to community banks.  SNL has consistently ranked Austin Associates among the top M&A advisory firms to community banks. Austin Associates also provides strategic planning, stock valuations, capital planning, regulatory consulting, asset/liability management, profitability and loan pricing systems, risk management, compliance and technology solutions.  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, Nebraska and serving clients across the country, they 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, please 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, please visit www.bancalliance.com.

The Barack Ferrazzano Financial Institutions Group has 30 bank lawyers representing over 250 financial institutions, addressing the entire spectrum of industry-related legal issues. They formulate creative solutions, emphasizing relationships, service and stability.  They are consistently ranked as a top law firm in bank mergers and regulatory issues.  For more information, visit www.bfkn.com.

Bank Financial Services Group is a national firm (10 regional offices) that is the industries’ leading BOLI expert.  BFS Group’s national expertise has helped banks all over the country increase their bottom line earnings, increase shareholder value and fund meaningful benefits for all their employees.  Through their principals, regional partners and staff, they have extensive experience in the financial services and banking industries.  Their exclusive focus on community banks makes Bank Financial Services Group uniquely qualified to design, implement and manage all BOLI investments to help drive the banks bottom-line earnings.  For more information, visit www.bfsgroup.com.

BlackRock is a global leader in investment management, risk management and advisory services for institutional and retail clients. At 6/30/13, BlackRock’s AUM was $3.857 trillion.  BlackRock offers separate accounts, mutual funds, iShares® (exchange-traded funds), other pooled investment vehicles and a risk management, advisory and enterprise investment system services through BlackRock Solutions®. For more information, visit www.blackrock.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$535 billion total assets and more than 46,000 employees as of July 31, 2013.  For more information, please visit www.bmocm.com.

Bryan Cave LLP is a leading business and litigation firm with global reach. With more than 1,100 lawyers and consulting professionals in 24 offices worldwide, Bryan Cave provides proactive, solution-oriented advice to a wide range of clients. The Financial Institutions group is a market leading practice assisting more than 300 financial institutions across the country. Attorneys in the group regularly advise clients on merger and acquisition transactions and on raising capital, including both public and private offerings. Members of the group also assist boards of directors in strategic planning, provide counsel on matters of corporate governance and advise banks on federal and state regulatory matters.  For more information, please visit www.bryancave.com.

Commerce Street Capital, LLC (“CSC”) is a private investment banking firm headquartered in Dallas, Texas.  Led by veterans of the banking industry, CSC specializes in investment banking services (mergers and acquisitions, valuations and regulatory issue advising) and bank development (on-site consulting, sales and management of bank capital raises, market assessments and the bank regulatory application process).  The firm provides tailored solutions for all or part of a financial institution’s business lifecycle.  For more information, please visit www.commercestreetcapital.com.

Compensation Advisors by Meyer-Chatfield provides compensation advisory services, including base and incentive review, benefit analysis, program design recommendations, implementation support and educational updates.  The company also offers a proprietary product that lowers the cost of a non-qualified SERP while extending the benefit to the executive for their lifetime.  For more information, please visit www.compensationadvisors.com.

Covington is a leader representing financial institutions on transactional, regulatory, litigation and enforcement matters, including M&A, investments, capital markets, governance and compliance. They represent community banks and larger institutions in M&A and other strategic transactions, and their deep regulatory expertise is integrated into every aspect of their practice.  For more information, please visit www.cov.com.

Credit Risk Management, L.L.C. was founded in 1989 as a service-oriented company bringing consultative, collaborative and relational credit management solutions to community banks and other financial institutions.  Staffed by experienced bankers, they provide external loan and special reviews, online credit manuals, credit training and underwriting tools to over 100 clients located in 32 states. Their products and services offer future focused analysis to allow clients to focus on both the transactional and macro portfolio assessment.  For more information, please visit www.creditriskmgt.com.

Crowe Horwath LLP is one of the largest public accounting and consulting firms in the U.S., providing audit, tax, advisory, risk and performance services.  Their banking industry focused team of more than 550 professionals has more than 50 years of experience, works with financial institutions of all sizes and serves more than 1,100 financial services organizations.  Crowe serves clients worldwide as an independent member of Crowe Horwath International.  Crowe banking specialists have created a complete M&A solution which begins at the inception of a deal and works with management teams all the way through the transaction and including the very difficult post acquisition phase of accounting, valuations, tax and post-merger integration issues.  Their specialists are truly banking focused and not generalists when it comes to serving their clients through the M&A process.  Their clients can count on Crowe professionals to bring the combination of functional expertise with industry knowledge to provide a level of service which has set Crowe apart from other service providers. For more information, please visit www.crowehorwath.com/fi.

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. Their lawyers have built a reputation for innovation and creative problem solving, and they are among the few firms chosen by Chambers USA 2013 as a stand-out for client service in both the Financial Services Regulation and Corporate/M&A categories.  For more information, please visit www.davispolk.com.

Day Pitney LLP is a full-service law firm with more than 300 attorneys in Boston, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Washington, DC.  The firm offers clients strong corporate and litigation practices, with experience on behalf of large national and international corporations, as well as emerging- and middle-market companies and individuals.  For more information, please visit www.daypitney.com.

Deluxe Corporation understands the needs of financial institutions and offers products and services to target new customers, acquire and onboard accountholders, enhance customer experience, increase profitability and measure effectiveness.  In addition, Deluxe has re-energized their check program and through proactive account management, web analytics and a purposeful retail strategy, clients see an average 24-27% annual profit improvement.  For more information, please visit www.deluxe.com.

Equias Alliance has successfully helped nearly 800 financial institutions with BOLI placement and with plans to recruit, retain and reward key officers and directors with nonqualified benefit plans.  They also provide administration of BOLI and nonqualified benefit plans.  For more information, please visit www.equiasalliance.com.

Fenimore, Kay, Harrison & Ford is a premier boutique law firm dedicated to the community banking industry. FKHF represents banks, thrifts and other financial institutions, as well as their investors, directors and executive officers, in a full range of corporate, transactional, M&A, securities and regulatory matters confronting the financial services industry.  For more information, please visit www.fkhpartners.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, please 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, denovo 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, please visit www.finpronj.com.

GLC is a custom communications and content marketing group focused on delivering ROI through a comprehensive content strategy and solid execution. Working in digital, print, mobile and social channels, GLC collaborates with clients to first understand their marketing objectives and then to develop the right audience-specific solutions. Their content delivers.  For more information, please visit www.glcdelivers.com.

Graham & Dunn PC has a primary focus on the financial services industry.  With a diverse client base throughout the West, Graham & Dunn’s attorneys offer breadth and depth of industry knowledge and regulatory experience and a proven track record of representing financial institutions, with mergers and acquisitions as a signature area of their practice.  For more information, please 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 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 them to provide a unique, strategic perspective on current industry matters and help their clients resolve issues and identify opportunities.  For more information, please visit www.grantthornton.com/financialservices.

Griffin is an investment bank which assists financial institutions in understanding their strategic and financial alternatives, raising capital and in buying and selling banks and related businesses.  Many of the firm’s professionals are former senior executive officers of large and small depository institutions with hands-on governance, operating and transactional experience.  For more information, please visit www.griffinfingroup.com.

Houlihan Lokey is an international investment bank with expertise in mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, financial restructuring and valuation.  The firm serves corporations, institutions and governments worldwide with offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. Independent advice and intellectual rigor are hallmarks of their commitment to client success across their advisory services.  Houlihan Lokey is ranked globally as the No. 1 restructuring advisor, the No. 1 M&A fairness opinion advisor over the past 10 years and the No. 1 M&A advisor for U.S. transactions under $3 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.  For more information, please visit www.hl.com.

Hovde Group, LLC, a leading financial advisor for over 25 years, provides a full suite of investment banking, capital markets and financial advisory services focused exclusively on the banking industry.  They assist clients with all phases of M&A transactions, asset purchases/dispositions, restructurings/recapitalizations, FDIC transactions, capital raises and other strategic options.  For more information, please visit www.hovdegroup.com.

The financial institutions group at Hunton & Williams LLP represented more banks in M&A transactions than any other firm over the last 12 years, and they were again number 1 in 2012 with 14 M&A transactions. To date through June 30, 2013, Hunton & Williams was second in number of transactions. The group also represented approximately 3% of all purchasers of failed banks, provided advice in numerous problem bank transactions and served as counsel in two of the eight bank M&A transactions involving 363 bankruptcy motions. The group also represented banks in hundreds of capital offerings, more than 100 fair lending, CMPs and other enforcement actions, myriad compliance issues before all of the federal bank regulatory authorities, including the CFPB and negotiations of administrative actions.  For more information, visit www.hunton.com.

Jefferies LLC, the global investment banking firm focused on serving clients for over 50 years, is a leader in providing insight, expertise and execution to investors, companies and governments.  The firm provides a full range of investment banking, sales, trading, research and strategy across the spectrum of equities, fixed income, foreign exchange, futures and commodities and also select asset and wealth management strategies, in the Americas, Europe and Asia.  Jefferies LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leucadia National Corporation (NYSE: LUK), a diversified holding company.  For more information, visit www.jefferies.com.

Jones Day is a global law firm with 16 U.S. offices and 24 foreign offices. They represent financial institutions that are global to local in size, including banks and thrifts, holding companies, investment banks, PE and hedge funds, institutional investors, broker-dealers and investment advisors. Their services include M&A; capital raising, securities and investments; corporate governance, all regulatory, Dodd-Frank and CFPB compliance and enforcement; litigation, including M&A, securities, derivatives and mortgages; and lending and commercial finance.  For more information, visit www.jonesday.com.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW) is now part of Stifel, providing a specialized focus in the financial services industry. Leveraging the Stifel platform, KBW offers broad capabilities in distributing securities through retail and institutional channels.  KBW provides financial services companies with research, equity sales and trading, capital raising, fixed income and strategic advisory services.  KBW’s focus includes banking companies, insurance companies, broker/dealers, mortgage banks, asset management companies and specialty finance firms. KBW’s investment banking professionals have extensive experience in: public underwritings of common stock; preferred stock and debt securities; private financings; initiating, structuring and negotiating mergers and acquisitions; and mutual conversions.  KBW also engages in other financial advisory services; including: tender offers, valuations, and shareholder reduction transactions.  Currently, KBW is ranked as #1 Bookrunner based on number of bank and thrift equity offerings raising $251.1 billion, #1 depository IPO and Follow-on Bookrunner raising $10.9 billion, and #1 depository M&A advisor totaling $115 billion.  For more information, please visit www.kbw.com.

Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP is a full-service law firm with nearly 650 attorneys.  The lawyers in their financial services practice group represent banks and other financial institutions on a wide variety of matters.  They 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. Their lawyers understand the business impact of their clients’ legal matters and work with them to develop solution-oriented approaches.  For more information, visit www.kilpatricktownsend.com.

KPMG’s Transaction Services Practice provides support throughout the transaction life cycle on both the buy-side and sell-side including divestitures, mergers, acquisitions and more.  They place a strong emphasis on stakeholder value and identify key risks and benefits early. Their sector specialists can guide companies on complex, industry specific issues during transaction diligence, valuation, integration and operational and accounting issues in bank M&A, as well as dealing with core issues such as finance, credit, regulatory, tax, valuation, etc.  Their large footprint in the banking industry provides unique access to market intelligence and insight, as well as a network of banking relationships to leverage in benchmarking industry best practices. For more information, please visit www.kpmg.com.

Locke Lord is a full-service, international law firm with offices in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Dallas, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Sacramento, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Locke Lord’s team of approximately 650 attorneys has earned a solid national reputation in complex litigation, regulatory and transactional work.  For more information, please visit www.lockelord.com.

Luse Gorman is a Washington, D.C. law firm that is recognized as a national leader in advising community banks in connection with M&A transactions, equity offerings, executive compensation, corporate governance and regulatory compliance. It is consistently ranked as one of the top law firms nationally in bank mergers and acquisitions based on total number of transactions and is a perennial leader nationally in total stock offerings by community banks.  For more information, visit www.luselaw.com.

McGladrey is the fifth largest U.S. provider of assurance, tax and consulting services, with 7,000 professionals and associates in nearly 90 offices to serve their clients’ business needs.  As a firm, they serve over 2,500 financial institutions nationally.  For more information, visit www.mcgladrey.com.

Mercer Capital is one of the largest business valuation and financial advisory firms in the nation.  Financial institutions represent the firm’s largest industry concentration.  Mercer Capital assists depository institutions, asset managers, insurance companies and specialty financial companies nationally with significant corporate valuation requirements, transactional advisory services and other strategic decisions.  For more information, visit www.mercercapital.com.

OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM) operates the OTCQX, OTCQB and OTC Pink financial marketplaces for 10,000 U.S. and global securities, including 600+ regional and community banks.  OTC Link® ATS, an SEC registered Alternative Trading System, directly links a diverse network of broker-dealers that provide liquidity and execution services for a wide spectrum of securities.  For more information, visit www.otcmarkets.com.

For more than 20 years, Pearl Meyer & Partners has served as an independent advisor in compensation governance, strategy and program design.  The firm works with hundreds of banks, ranging from denovo to large regional banks, and understands the business, regulatory, performance, human resource and compensation issues specific to the industry.  For more information, visit www.pearlmeyer.com.

PricewaterhouseCoopers provides comprehensive assurance, tax and advisory M&A services from pre-deal due diligence to post merger integration effectiveness. They assist clients with their most challenging and complex issues. 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 6,200 financial advisors. Client assets under management exceed $413 billion. The firm makes active markets and provides equity research on over 1,000 publicly-traded companies. The Financial Services 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, please visit www.raymondjames.com.

River Branch Capital is an investment bank focused on financial services.  They are dedicated to providing customized solutions to their clients.  Their knowledge and experience, complemented by their national and international dealings and relationships, allow them to uniquely serve the needs of their clients.  They concentrate their efforts on a select group of partnerships and situations where they can add particular value.  For more information, please visit www.rbhllc.com.

Sandler O’Neill + Partners, L.P. is a full-service investment banking firm focused on the financial services sector. It 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.  For more information, please visit www.sandleroneill.com.

SBA Complete is a full-service SBA outsource and consulting firm focused on helping community banks effectively profit from SBA lending.  Founded by former senior bankers, SBA Complete has the technical expertise to ensure that their clients benefit from the lucrative programs of the SBA in a very cost effective way.  For more information, please visit www.sbacomplete.com.

Sheshunoff & Co. Investment Banking, a premier community bank financial advisor, has acted as a 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, please visit www.smslp.com.

SMS Financial is a joint venture partner of the FDIC and an opportunistic firm specializing in the acquisition, recovery and servicing of distressed debt (secured and unsecured) across multiple commercial and consumer asset classes.  Founded in 1993, SMS provides value in partnerships, operates rapidly with precision and executes without fail.  For more information, please visit www.smsfinancial.net.

Founded in 1901, Sterne Agee is one of the nation’s oldest and largest privately owned financial services firm. The firm employs over 1,500 professionals across 22 states and provides an array of financial services to a diverse client base. The firm’s Financial Institutions Group practice provides financial institutions with M&A advisory, capital raising, equity sales, trading and research and balance sheet management.  For more information, please visit www.sterneagee.com.

Stinson Leonard Street LLP provides sophisticated transactional and litigation legal services to clients ranging from individuals and privately held enterprises to national and international public companies. As one of the 75 largest firms in the U.S., Stinson Leonard Street has more than 525 attorneys and offices in 14 cities.  For more information, please visit www.stinsonleonard.com.

StrategyCorps delivers revenue-generating retail checking and mobile financial solutions to banks nationwide. The solutions are so relevant to customers’ daily lives, they’ll gladly pay a fee to have them. This means clients will earn about $75 of customer-friendly fee income annually per account from 40% of their retail checking accounts.   For more information, visit www.strategycorps.com.

Established in 1986, Sutherland Global Services is a global provider of business process and technology management services offering an integrated portfolio of analytics-driven back-office and customer facing solutions that support the entire customer lifecycle. It is one of the largest, independent BPO companies in the world serving global leaders in major industry verticals. Headquartered in Rochester, N.Y., Sutherland employs over 30,000 professionals and has 35 operations centers in the United States, Philippines, India, UAE, Egypt, Bulgaria, UK, Canada, Mexico and Colombia.   For more information, visit www.sutherlandglobal.com.

Zurich Insurance Group is a leading multi-line insurance provider with a global network of subsidiaries and offices in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East as well as other markets.  It offers a wide range of general insurance and life insurance products and services for individuals, small, mid-sized and large companies as well as multinational corporations.  For more information, visit www.zurich.com.