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Article: Community Bancorp pays top price for R.B. Bank: $33.2m deal signifies bullish market for well-run institutions.(Banking)(Rancho Bernardo Community Bank)
- Article from:
- San Diego Business Journal
- Article date:
- May 2, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 CBJ, L.P. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The stock market may be down this year, but the market for top performing community banks is bullish.
Community Bancorp's recently announced purchase of Rancho Bernardo Community Bank for $33.2 million meant the one-office bank garnered 3.4 times Rancho Bernardo Community's equity, or book value.
"That's a very rich deal," said Frank Mercardante, the chief executive officer of Southwest Community Bancorp, based in Encinitas, with about $600 million in assets.
While the transaction appears on the high side, it's realistic given the market for well-run banks and the need to capture market share.
"That seems like it's pretty close to the ...