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The Wall Street Journal's article entitled Ax Falls at Smaller Banks reiterates a theme we have expressed often in recent months: banks need to become more cost effective, specifically on overhead expenses.  Quoted in the article is FIG Partners' own Director of Research Christopher Marinac.  The article is available to Journal subscribers.

Fidelity Bank, unit of Fidelity Southern Corporation (NASDAQ: LION), has agreed to assume certain deposits and acquire essentially all of the assets of Decatur First Bank through a purchase and assumption agreement with the FDIC. Under the terms of the agreement, Fidelity Bank will assume approximately $192 million in assets and $179 million in deposits. The FDIC and Fidelity Bank also entered into a loss-share transaction on approximately $112 million of Decatur First Bank's assets.

Decatur First Bank operated 5 total branches with 3 in DeKalb County, 1 in Green County and 1 in Morgan County. With the acquisition, Fidelity Bank will operate twenty-six banking locations in eleven metro Atlanta counties with one branch located in Jacksonville, Florida. The acquisition will increase Fidelity Bank's market share in Georgia to 1.04%, ranking 10th in the state, and 1.60% in the Atlanta MSA, ranking 9th.

FIG Partners served as the financial advisor to Fidelity Southern Corporation in this transaction.

LION_Acquires_Decatur_First_10-21-11.pdf

FIG Partners is pleased to welcome Mike Cavallaro as a Director within its Investment Banking Group. Mike joins an existing team of six (6) professionals and will be based in Los Angeles, CA. Prior to joining FIG Partners, Mike advised financial institution clients at Hovde Financial, Inc., Hovde Securities, LLC, and Keefe, Bruyette and Woods.

"We are fortunate to combine Mike's expertise in M&A, Strategic Advisory, and Capital Raising with ourplatform dedicated to serving banks and thrifts nationwide," commented FIG Managing Directors Adam Desmond & Greg Gersack in a joint statement.

Mike Cavallaro can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 310-909-4138.

FIG_Press_Release_10-12-11_MIKE_CAVALLARO.pdf

FIG Partners is pleased to welcome John Rodis to its Equity Research Team. John will contribute to both individual bank stock coverage as well as industry analysis alongside FIG's existing team of analysts Christopher Marinac, Brian Martin, and Tim Coffey.

Prior to joining FIG Partners, John has spent 14 years as a research analyst covering regional banks, thrifts and REITs. The majority of his career has been on the sell side working most recently for Howe Barnes Hoefer & Arnett (2009 – 2011) as well as Stifel, Nicolaus & Company (1997 – 2005). In those positions John was primarily responsible for the coverage of Midwestern banks and thrifts. In addition, he spent four years (2005 – 2009) on the buy side at a financials-only investment fund. In this role John provided coverage of Midwestern and Western banking institutions as well as being involved in the overall portfolio management.

Through those roles he has developed an extensive network of market contacts that benefits his evaluation of the financial sector. John has an MBA from St. Louis University and an undergraduate degree in Finance from the University of Missouri–St. Louis. He is located in St. Louis, Missouri.

FIG_Press_Release_9-19-11_JOHN_RODIS.pdf