BATON ROUGE – Business First Bancshares, the parent company of b1BANK, has acquired American Planning Corporation, a financial consulting firm that has advised community banks since 1972, expanding its strategic advisory services for financial institutions nationwide.
As part of the acquisition, American Planning CEO T. Jefferson Fair and his team will join Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC, a subsidiary of b1BANK, broadening the firm’s advisory platform for clients of both Smith Shellnut Wilson and the b1 Financial Services Group.
American Planning specializes in outsourced chief financial officer services, financial modeling, strategic planning, capital planning, asset/liability management, stock valuations and regulatory consulting for community banks.
“Jeff Fair and his team have earned the trust of community bankers over many years, including ours,” said Jude Melville, chairman, president and CEO of Business First Bancshares. “We’ve worked together since our founding twenty years ago, and I have complete confidence that by formally joining forces, we will amplify the positive impact Jeff already has had on the community banking industry.”
Business First Bancshares – Expanding Advisory Services
Business First said the acquisition expands Smith Shellnut Wilson’s offerings beyond investment management and asset/liability management into a broader range of strategic advisory services. The company said clients will have access to additional expertise in financial performance, regulatory strategy, capital planning and long-term growth planning through a single advisory platform.
“We’ve worked side by side serving community banks for more than 30 years,” said Frank W. Smith III, managing director of Smith Shellnut Wilson. “Joining forces allows us to deepen our capabilities while delivering greater value to our clients.”
Fair said the two firms have worked with many of the same community bank clients for years.
“SSW’s investment management and ALM experience complements American Planning’s work in community bank financial and strategic planning,” Fair said. “We’ve served many of the same clients for years, working toward the same goals. Now we’ll do it as one team.”
As of March 31, Business First Bancshares reported $8.9 billion in assets through its banking subsidiary, b1BANK. Its affiliate, Smith Shellnut Wilson, managed $5.7 billion in assets, excluding approximately $1 billion in b1BANK assets managed by the firm. b1BANK operates banking centers and loan production offices throughout Louisiana and Texas.
