The announcement of the BB&T and SunTrust merger on February 7, 2019 has me thinking about its impact on the industry as well as what lenders might learn by looking at the data behind the merger. The good news is that it’s easy to create pseudo bank mergers using LendingPatterns™, ComplianceTech’s web-based tool that aggregates Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data (HMDA) for all lenders.

Lenders can combine their data with one or more lenders to play out different scenarios in their lending footprint.  This can be done in a matter of seconds giving lenders a chance to see how their results look before and after a potential merger. It’s another way to use LendingPatterns™ to strategize and look for business opportunities. This analysis can be done for the entire United States or by state, Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), County, Census Tract or Congressional District, giving lenders the opportunity to examine the potential impact by specific target lending areas.

Prior to the merger, neither SunTrust or BB&T was in the top 10 list of mortgage originations (based on HMDA 2017).  However, post-merger they jump to the top 10 with a combined total of 93,900 originations.  It is important to take merger analysis beyond making the top ten. Lenders need to drill-down to see how the combined fair lending results look like and analyze the assets using various risk metrics: concentration analysis by product, geography, occupancy, etc. The adage, know before you buy!

With LendingPatterns, it’s easy to make informed decisions based on real numbers. Take the guess work out of your strategy and use a tool that can help you look for sound market opportunities. You can contact ComplianceTech today to learn how to use LendingPatterns™.