Bank Merger, Acquisition Activity, & Lending Practices

ECONorthwest develops models and systems to evaluate bank mergers and acquisitions.

Bank merger, acquisition, and branch transactions activity involves evaluation of antitrust considerations, market potential, branch location, and Community Reinvestment Act considerations. ECONorthwest has developed models and systems to facilitate the evaluation of competitive and market feasibility considerations, as well as tools to optimize deposit-taking and lending activity. This involves definition of the relevant regulatory and economic geographic and product markets, and the level of current and latent competition.

Regulators and lenders periodically require demonstration of a lender’s compliance with Fair Lending, Community Investment Act, and other consumer and mortgage lending behavior. For banks facing regulatory scrutiny of lending patterns, ECONorthwest performs independent statistical reviews of lending decisions using data collected by the bank in loan application documents.

ECONorthwest tests whether observed patterns of lending are consistent with fair treatment of protected borrower classes. We present our findings to the appropriate regulatory agency or in litigation settings.

Interested in learning more about how ECONorthwest can help you with your next project? Our toolbox is full and our staff enjoy meeting new challenges.