Cetera Adds 6 Texas Banks
The deal consists of six different local bank charters with more than 27 offices located in rural communities throughout Texas.
Cetera Financial Group has picked up six Texas banks and a financial advisor from LPL Financial as part of a recruitment deal announced by Cetera on Thursday.
As part of the deal, holding company Industry Bancshares has joined Cetera’s financial institutions community. Industry Bancshares comprises six different local bank charters with more than 27 offices located in rural communities throughout Texas, Cetera said. The community banks support almost $6 billion in deposit assets and $46 million in assets under management, according to Cetera.
The news follows multiple recent recruitment and acquisition deals announced by Cetera in recent weeks, including a purchase of the independent financial planning channel of insurer Voya Financial in February and the acquisition this month of Magis Financial Partners, a Philadelphia-based broker-dealer with more than $490 million in AUM that operates a separate RIA that will transition to Cetera. The latter represented the first RIA that Cetera had bought in a while.
Financial terms of the latest deal, finalized Tuesday, were not disclosed. Industry Bancshares’ program will be affiliated with Cetera Investment Services.
Industry Bancshares was with LPL for 12 years. LPL did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.
For advisor Bo Thibodeaux, Industry Bancshares program manager, joining Cetera represents a reunion, according to a Cetera spokeswoman. He was with Cetera for two years through a different financial institution (National Bank and Trust, a Cetera client), she noted. “A few years back, he made a career change to join Industry Bancshares who had a program affiliated with LPL,” she said. “Industry Bancshares is a brand new affiliation.”
Thibodeaux has “big growth goals for the bank program,” the spokeswoman added, noting there are “immediate plans to build upon” his team at Cetera.
“We are excited about the switch to Cetera as it’s one of the leading financial advice firms in the bank and credit union landscape,” Thibodeaux said in a statement. “Earlier in my career, I was affiliated with Cetera and had the opportunity to serve as part of its technology council that helped shape the AdviceWorks platform,” he said.
“I believe [Cetera] has the best bank platform and a solid track record of helping bank programs succeed,” he added.
Industry Bancshares has “plans to progress on its solid growth trajectory with a goal of 20% year-over-year growth over the next five years and immediate plans to recruit additional financial planning leaders to the team,” Cetera said.
It was “wonderful to welcome back Bo” and add the Industry Bancshares team, according to LeAnn Rummel, head of Cetera’s financial institutions community. “We are excited to complement their bank program and help them advance their strategy serving customers in rural Texas.”