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NEWS & COMMENTARY

Oil's rough patch shakes bank investors

January 22, 2015

Green Bancorp priced its shares at $15 for its initial public offering in August, when oil still sold for almost $100 a barrel. Since then, the price of crude has shrunk by half, and shares of Green Bancorp are down by nearly a third. Texas banks are feeling the pinch of oil's big swoon, as lower bank stock prices hit existing shareholders, initial public offerings and prospects for merger and acquisition activity. Low oil prices also could affect acquisitions, said Dan Bass, managing director of investment banking for bank advisory firm Performance Trust Capital Partners. He thinks activity will slow down during the first half of the year. The second half depends on oil prices.

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