The smooth and relatively short process should be encouraging to other big banks that are eyeing deals. But their window of opportunity may not last long.
United Bankshares in West Virginia was willing to pay a healthy premium for Carolina Financial, one of a dwindling number of available banks with more than $4 billion in assets.
The companies say they're working hard to complete their deal this year — including spending millions on retention payments and other items — but there's no guarantee how quickly regulators will make their decisions.
Sound Bank is now Dogwood State Bank after its sale to an investor group. The buyers also moved Dogwoods State's corporate offices from eastern North Carolina to the state's capital.
Skip Brown, an executive with the the Winston-Salem Banking Group, says it has signed a letter of intent to buy a community bank three months after withdrawing a charter application.
