2024 Journal of Community Bank Case Studies

FIRST PLACE: Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania THIRD PLACE: Southeastern Louisiana University

b1Bank’s core beliefs and values define the shape the decisions and define their banking culture. Its principles of thoughtful, disciplined decision-making; meaningful communication; doing the right things the right way; and striving to be the best through continual improvement allow the relationship driven team to interact with clients to positively impact the communities they serve. Part I: Financial Analysis We perform a time series and cross-sectional financial analysis of b1Bank relative to each of the 2023 failed banks, including Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), First Republic Bank (FRB), and Signature Bank (SBNY). Since the failed banks ceased operations in spring 2023, our team uses financial data from 2018 to 2022. Asset Growth Between 2018 and 2022, b1Bank nearly tripled its total assets, from $2.1 billion to $6.0

and TX: MBL Bank and Richland State Bank in 2018, Pedestal Bank in 2020, and Texas Citizen Bank in 2022 (FDIC’s call report). Compared to b1Banks’s UBPR peer group of banks with assets of $3 to $10 billion, b1Bank average growth of 40% consistently outperforms the peer group’s average assets growth rates of 11.61%. b1Bank’s loan portfolio grew from $1.52 billion to $4.57 billion, accounting for about 72% of its total assets while its securities portfolio grew from $310 million to $891 million–about 16% of total assets. b1Bank’s commitment to the community it serves presents a significant contrast to the large regional banks that failed, especially Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). SVB observed 36.48% asset growth, yet its assets comprise about 48% securities and 41% loans and leases. Unlike SVB, b1Bank allocates its assets to its loan portfolio that serves the community and yields consistent interest income.

billion. Organic accompanied by mergers and acquisitions (M&A) resulted in approximately 25% deposit growth since Q4 2018. Excluding acquired deposits, b1Bank’s average deposit growth rate accounts for about 17% of deposits (Investor Call Q4’22). b1Bank fostered complimentary deposit growth by acquiring four banks in LA

Figure 1: b1 Bank Total Assets

$.0 Billion $1.0 Billion $2.0 Billion $3.0 Billion $4.0 Billion $5.0 Billion $6.0 Billion $7.0 Billion

26.86%

13.30%

83.52%

65.87% 8.43%

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

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