First Horizon CFO Hope Dmuchowski is quick to emphasize that mergers and acquisitions are not a priority for the Memphis, Tennessee-based lender, which has its own organic growth plans.
“But banks go for sale sometimes, and we’re not going to say no, so I think that’s a differentiation,” she said in a Thursday interview. “If an investment banker comes – ‘This bank is for sale, selling in the next 30 days. Are you interested?’ We’re going to run the math.”
Buying a small bank in Raleigh, North Carolina, would hold particular appeal, Dmuchowski said, noting there’s “probably a dozen” privately owned lenders with a handful of branches in that market, whose owners are ready to retire…