It is becoming increasingly difficult to find attractive acquisition targets and successfully negotiate a deal as consolidation steadily reduces the number of available banks. Because of this, the best acquirers have developed specific strategies to achieve M&A success. Thirty percent of the executives and directors participating in Bank Director’s 2019 Bank M&A Survey want their bank to be an active acquirer over the next five years, making M&A a core component of their growth strategies. Of these, 70 percent have made an acquisition over the past three years—compared to 36 percent of those surveyed overall, most of whom characterize their...