Three Ways to Increase Shareholder Value

With the Federal Reserve due to raise interest rates again this year and an administration focused on domestic issues and reducing regulation, community bank stocks are in high demand. The OTCQX Banks Index, a benchmark for community banks traded on the OTCQX market, gained 30 percent in the past 12 months, compared to 15 percent for the S&P 500. How can community banks leverage this positive trend and deliver greater value to their shareholders?

First, achieve a fair valuation for your shares. Fair market value is the price at which a person is willing to buy a company’s stock on the open market. Determining fair market value for a publicly traded stock is relatively straightforward and can be done by, for example, taking the average of the highest and lowest selling prices for the stock that day.

Figuring out fair market value for a stock that is not traded on a public market is a little more complex. For privately held community banks, this typically requires the chief financial officer to call around to multiple investors to negotiate prices in bilateral transactions. Not only is this process opaque and inefficient, but it generally doesn’t yield the highest value for shareholders.

For a publicly traded community bank, achieving fair market value is also a factor of the market on which it is traded and how much information it makes available to investors. A bank that trades on an established public market like OTCQX or OTCQB is helping maximize the value of its shares by providing transparent pricing, access to liquidity and convenient access to its news and financial disclosure.

Second, reduce the risk of owning your securities. Community banks can also maximize shareholder value by reducing the risk of trading their securities. A privately-held bank that trades its stock out of a desk drawer opens itself up to additional risks related to pricing, holding and clearing its securities. In contrast, a bank that trades on an established public market reduces risk for shareholders by allowing them to freely get into and out of its stock.

Public market standards can also help lower shareholder risks. In the OTC markets, the top two markets—OTCQX and OTCQB—have verification processes which allow banks to demonstrate to shareholders that they have met certain standards and that there are risk controls around their securities. In contrast, there is no such verification process for companies on the bottom Pink market, which increases the risks—and costs—of owning these securities.

Third, embrace technology. As community banks struggle to replace an aging shareholder base, technology will play a key role in attracting and retaining a new generation of millennial investors. Millennials, aged 18 to 34 years old, get most of their news online and on their phones, so banks need to embrace technology to make sure their financials and news are widely disseminated.

Trading on an established public market like OTCQX and OTCQB can help community banks ensure their news and disclosure is seen by broker-dealers and investors wherever they analyze, value or trade its securities. OTC Markets Group also works with Edgar Online to provide non-Securities and Exchange Commission reporting banks conversion and distribution of their fundamental data in XBRL format, so it can be more easily consumed and analyzed by investors.

With community bank stocks receiving positive attention, now is the time for banks to capitalize on market demand. Think about your shareholders and what’s important to them. Whether your bank has $100 million in assets or $3 billion, your shareholders should be treated like customers and you need to put their needs first.