BBVA acquisition ‘fast-forwarded’ PNC’s expansion

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: PNC) first established a presence in Colorado about three years ago with an office in Denver led by regional president Ryan Beiser.

While PNC often grows using mergers and acquisitions, the plan at the time was to grow the Pittsburgh-based institution’s business along the Front Range — along with newly entered markets in Houston and Nashville — organically.

“The M&A market just wasn’t a place where it could work at that time,” Beiser told BizWest.

But after several years of organic growth, that M&A landscape changed when BBVA USA Bancshares Inc. expressed interest in a deal.

“In the midst [of PNC’s organic growth strategy], BBVA came to us,” and an $11.6 billion acquisition deal was ultimately closed in June, he said. “This is an unbelievable acceleration of those [expansion] efforts.”

BBVA, which had about $104 billion in assets, operated 637 branches in Texas, Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Colorado and New Mexico. Locally, the bank had locations in Boulder, Fort Collins, Greeley, Lafayette, Longmont, Loveland and Westminster.

PNC now holds $5.6 trillion in assets and is the fifth largest commercial bank in the United States. The BBVA deal gives PNC a coast-to-coast bank branch footprint.

The absorption of BBVA “fast-forwarded us five to 10 years compared to organically building,” Beiser said.

“The excitement for us is to be able to take our work and accelerate it more quickly across the state,” client and community relations director Ellen Sandberg said. “…with the acquisition of BBVA, it amplifies our ability to do that.”

PNC has bolstered its Denver business and simultaneously broadened its reach into the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado markets.

“If you’re going to grow into the middle market, you’ve got to be local and you’ve got to be present,” Beiser said.

The bank coveted the Front Range markets due to “how diverse the economy is — from oil and gas to agriculture to tech to all kinds of companies choosing this state for their headquarters,” he said.

Joining Beiser and Sandberg to lead the Colorado market are:

Bremmer Kneib, corporate banking market leader, formerly corporate banking group manager for PNC.

Christina Raya, market leader with PNC Wealth Management, currently serving in this role for PNC.

Shawn Thompson, commercial group manager, formerly Colorado Springs market president at BBVA.

“We bring on talent thinking about what we want to be [when the new market is established] versus what we are” in the early stages of market expansion, Beiser said.

While PNC doesn’t comment on specific staffing details, Beiser suggested that the bank plans to retain as many local BBVA employees as is feasible.

“If your focus is on the customer, it makes sense to have as much continuity as possible,” he said. “… I knew the cultures were similar — I’ve known a lot of people at BBVA — well before the announcement of this [acquisition]. But as we start to come together, I’m more impressed with the people.”

Former BBVA customers may not have noticed any changes at their local branches yet, but those are coming.

“We are going to be working on branding and systems integration through October,” Beiser said.

PNC will begin sending customers information on the transition during the next few months to “let people know what’s changing, what’s not changing, and what the benefits are,” he said.

Despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the transition is going smoothly, PNC leaders said.

“We are very practiced at this as we’ve executed a number of these acquisitions, so we’re feeling good,” Beiser said.

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