Check our work.
We can’t show you our clients’ data, so we built a real example. Every claim on this page is shown on one market: the 1,916 US community banks that an operations software company called TieOut sells to.
- Buying committeeThe buying committee, each person tagged with the reason they’re on the list.
- Your whole marketSee what’s happening across your whole market.
- Problems by volumeThe most common problems across your market, by volume.
- Ranked by fit and timingEvery account ranked by fit and timing, with the reasons attached.
- One standardOne standard, with real examples.
- Dated, sourced factsEvery fact dated, and one click from its source.
- Month by monthYour market is constantly moving.
The buying committee, each person tagged with the reason they’re on the list.
At NexTier Bank, a Pennsylvania bank partway through a merger, the research found the people the merger work lands on, and wrote down why each one matters. Fit is how closely the bank matches TieOut’s ideal customer. Timing is how much dated evidence says now is the moment.
NexTier Bank
Why now Its merger with Riverside Bank of Dublin took legal effect on 31 August 2026, and the systems conversion is expected in November 2026. The bank’s announcement
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1
Brian Dutton
EVP, Chief Operating Officer & General Counsel
Responsible for day-to-day operational functions and M&A legal affairs, making him the primary executive owner of the ongoing Riverside Bank of Dublin integration and core conversion program.
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2
Lou Palumbo
Chief Information Officer
Owns the bank’s core IT architecture, vendor relationships and the core consolidation technical path required for the upcoming November 2026 operational merger.
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3
Heather Lively
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Oversees financial planning, capital allocation and budget approvals for bank initiatives, including post-merger integration expenses.
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4
Justin Steele
Operations Project Manager
Has direct, hands-on experience managing core systems and operations projects, having previously served as AVP/Core Systems Manager at NexTier.
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5
Kevin Materson
AVP Core Systems Manager
Manages the core banking platform (Fiserv Premier) that must absorb Riverside Bank of Dublin’s accounts during the November 2026 cutover.
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6
Jesse Pierce
Senior Core Systems Administrator
Provides direct technical administration for NexTier’s core banking systems, handling system configurations and data feeds required for the Riverside integration.
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7
Carrie Suess
VP Deposit Operations Manager
The deposit operations leader responsible for managing deposit accounts, exception queues and customer migration workflows for the bank.
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8
Stephanie Slezak
Vice President, Loan Operations
Oversees commercial and consumer loan processing, documentation and boarding onto NexTier’s core system.
Found in public professional profiles. The reasons draw on the bank’s own merger announcement and one of its job postings. The research kept 15 of the 20 people it looked at; these are its top 8.
See what’s happening across your whole market.
This is TieOut’s whole market, every bank counted from the research. Filter by region, assets, charter or company size, or keep to the banks worth engaging, and every count follows.
Every bank in the market, one dot each
- Worth engaging175
- Other banks in your view1,741
- Outside your filters0
The most common problems across your market, by volume.
Of the problems TieOut solves, how many of the 1,916 banks show each one. That tells TieOut’s marketing team which webinar to run first, and which banks to invite to speak.
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Bringing operating costs down
730 of 1,916 banks, 38%
Running costs high against revenue: an efficiency ratio above about 70%, or in the top half of the usual 55 to 70%.
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Efficiency ratio of 75.80% on its June 2026 call report.
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Efficiency ratio of 72.60% on its June 2026 call report.
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Efficiency ratio of 68.41% on its June 2026 call report.
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Managing fast headcount growth
376 of 1,916 banks, 20%
Full-time staff up 15% or more over three years, on the bank’s own FDIC call reports.
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Staff grew from 73 to 144 in three years, up 97%.
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Staff grew from 818 to 981 in three years, up 20%.
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Finishing a merger integration
256 of 1,916 banks, 13%
Bought or agreed to buy a bank, branches or a business line, and the work it creates is not yet absorbed.
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Adirondack Bank merged in on 1 Jul; systems conversion due later in 2026.
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FDIC (opens in a new tab) Internet Archive (opens in a new tab) Bank merger page (opens in a new tab)
United Security Bank merged in on 3 Apr and was converted 24 to 27 Jul; its conversion notice is still on the homepage.
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Also seen 291 banks (15%) were hiring for loan operations, deposit operations or conversion work. 228 banks (12%) were partway through a change to their online banking, app or account opening. Both can be signs of these problems rather than topics of their own.
A bank counts in every row the research confirmed for it, so one bank can appear in several.
Every account ranked by fit and timing, with the reasons attached.
Each bank scored on two separate questions: how closely it matches TieOut’s ideal customer, and how much dated evidence says now is the moment.
Worth engaging, watch, or leave alone
Three bars put each bank in a group: a fit score, a timing score, and one trait every bank must have, a merger it has not finished absorbing.
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Worth engaging 175
The banks the research marks worth engaging. Each clears all three bars: fit of 21 or more, timing of 55 or more, and a merger it has not finished absorbing.
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Watch 448
Fit of 21 or more, but timing under 55 or no merger still to absorb. These are the banks to watch for a new deal or a timing change.
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Leave alone 1,293
Fit under 21: too far from TieOut’s ideal customer for its timing to matter.
One dot per bank, in rank order. The ringed dots are the fourteen ranked below.
The fourteen banks whose full analysis you can open
Rank among all 1,916
Ranked by group, then by timing, then by fit. Banks tied on all three share a rank.
One standard, with real examples.
TieOut’s standard is its ideal customer written down as tests. We wrote it ourselves from public bank data and tested it against real banks. For you, it starts with interviews with your team and your CRM. Every trait a named bank carries comes with a real example: the company, the evidence, the date.
TieOut’s standard
Every bank in the market is read against the tests below. Open any example bank to see its full analysis.
Entry tests
1,916 of 1,916 banks pass all three
What a bank must be to count as part of TieOut’s market at all. These are the firmographics any data provider sells, and every bank in the market passes them, so they cannot tell one bank from another.
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A US bank the FDIC insures
It files a public financial report every quarter.
FDIC certificate 7900, insured since 1934
FDIC BankFind, 1 Jan 1934 Check it (FDIC BankFind for NexTier Bank, N.A., opens in a new tab)
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$300M to $10B in assets
Big enough for an operations team, small enough to buy rather than build.
$2.93B in total assets
FDIC call report, 30 Jun 2026 Check it (FDIC call report for NexTier Bank, N.A., opens in a new tab)
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At least 50 staff
Roughly where a bank has named operations leaders.
313 full-time staff
FDIC call report, 30 Jun 2026 Check it (FDIC call report for NexTier Bank, N.A., opens in a new tab)
Fit traits
What makes a bank need what TieOut sells. Each one is read from the bank’s own filings, website or job posts, and each count below is an audience.
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A merger it has not finished absorbing
RequiredIt is the buyer in a deal, closed or only signed, and the work is not done: the systems are not merged, costs have not recovered, or it is still hiring for operations. Only a bank with this one can be worth engaging.
256 of 1,916 banks
Real exampleIt took over Adirondack Bank on 1 July 2026. Its filing that day says the banking system conversion and integration is scheduled to be completed later in 2026.
SEC Form 8-K, 1 Jul 2026 Check it (SEC Form 8-K for Arrow Bank, N.A., opens in a new tab)
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High running costs
It spends a lot to earn each dollar: an efficiency ratio above about 70%, or in the upper half of the usual 55 to 70% range. This scores the level only; a rising ratio counts as timing.
730 of 1,916 banks
Real exampleIts efficiency ratio was 72.60% in June 2026: about 73 cents of running costs for each dollar of revenue. It has stayed above 70% on every quarterly report since June 2023.
FDIC call reports, 30 Jun 2023 to 30 Jun 2026 Check it (FDIC call reports for Ion Bank, opens in a new tab)
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Staff growing fast
Its full-time staff grew by about 15% or more in three years, on its quarterly FDIC report. This measures headcount growth alone.
376 of 1,916 banks
Real exampleIts full-time staff nearly doubled in three years, from 73 in June 2023 to 144 in June 2026.
FDIC call reports, 30 Jun 2023 to 30 Jun 2026 Check it (FDIC call reports for Dream First Bank, N.A., opens in a new tab)
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Online banking partway through a change
Its online banking, mobile app or account opening is partway through a change. After a merger, that is one of the few signs of unfinished work a customer can see.
228 of 1,916 banks
Real exampleOver 10 to 13 April 2026 it moved customers of the branches it bought onto its own online banking and mobile app.
Internet Archive, 10 Apr 2026 Check it (Internet Archive for Security First Bank, opens in a new tab)
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Hiring for conversion or back-office work
It has open roles in loan or deposit operations, reconciliation, core conversion or data migration.
291 of 1,916 banks
Real exampleIt is hiring a temporary deposit operations specialist for July to December 2026, to reconcile and verify general ledger entries.
Heritage Bank job posting, Jul to Dec 2026 No link: job ads come down
Timing signals
What makes now the moment for TieOut. These three drive the timing score, which is kept apart from fit, and the standard treats each as current only for a set time after its date.
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Just closed a deal
It has just bought a bank or branches. The legal close starts a conversion with a fixed deadline that runs for several quarters.
The standard reads it as current for 6 quarters
Real exampleOn 22 April 2026 it took over The First National Bank of Hugo, Colorado, and its three branches.
FDIC structure record, 22 Apr 2026 Check it (FDIC structure record for High Plains Bank, opens in a new tab)
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Costs rising
Its efficiency ratio, the number bank boards watch most, has worsened over recent quarters: costs are growing faster than revenue.
The standard reads it as current for 4 quarters
Real exampleIts efficiency ratio rose about 10 points in a year, from 59.7% in June 2025 to 69.6% in June 2026.
FDIC call reports, 30 Jun 2025 to 30 Jun 2026 Check it (FDIC call reports for The Fountain Trust Company, opens in a new tab)
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Branches opening or closing
It is opening, closing or selling branches, which changes routing, staffing and reporting, and usually comes with a wider change in how it runs.
The standard reads it as current for 4 quarters
Real exampleIt closed its West Shaw branch in Fresno and its Bakersfield branch on 24 July 2026, and opened a deposit office in Irvine on 17 August 2026.
FDIC structure record, 24 Jul and 17 Aug 2026 Check it (FDIC structure record for Community West Bank, opens in a new tab)
Counts against
What lowers a bank’s standing, or disqualifies it outright.
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Already runs a rival product
It already runs a competing operations workflow or integration platform. A match counts against the bank.
22 of 1,916 banks
Real example Not foundNone of the 14 banks we name runs one, so there is no example to show.
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Ruled out
Any one of these disqualifies a bank, whatever else it carries.
- A credit union
- Under $300M in assets
- Over $10B in assets
- Outside the US
Real example Not foundNone of the 14 banks we name is disqualified.
Every fact dated, and one click from its source.
What the research found at NexTier Bank, each fact with the date it happened and a link to the page that shows it.
NexTier Bank, N.A.
A Pennsylvania bank partway through absorbing another bank
- Fit
- 67
- Timing
- 92
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Its merger with Riverside Bank of Dublin took legal effect. Moving Riverside customers onto its systems is expected in November 2026.
The bank’s own release Check it: Just closed a deal, The bank’s own release, opens in a new tab
Timing Just closed a deal
Timing signal -
Its quarterly report to the FDIC, the one every insured bank files, shows $2.93B in assets, 313 full-time staff and 34 offices.
FDIC call report data Check it: The size of bank TieOut sells to, FDIC call report data, opens in a new tab
Entry check The size of bank TieOut sells to
Met -
Full-time staff grew 17% in three years, from 267 to 313. TieOut’s standard counts growth of about 15% or more.
FDIC call report data Check it: Staff growing fast, FDIC call report data, opens in a new tab
Fit Staff growing fast
Met -
Its efficiency ratio fell from 59.5% to 49.2% in three years: it now spends about 49 cents to earn each dollar of revenue.
FDIC call report data Check it: High running costs, FDIC call report data, opens in a new tab
Fit High running costs
Not met -
It advertised for a commercial loan servicing specialist in Butler, Pennsylvania. The job includes boarding commercial loans onto the bank’s core system.
Job board listing No link: job ads come down
Fit Hiring for conversion or back-office work
Met -
It agreed to buy Riverside Bank of Dublin, Ohio, a bank with about $270M in assets, and merge it into NexTier.
The bank’s release, archived copy Check it: A merger it has not finished absorbing, The bank’s release, archived copy, opens in a new tab
Fit A merger it has not finished absorbing
Met -
It absorbed Mars Bank of Mars, Pennsylvania, which makes Riverside its second bank deal in under three years.
FDIC, the bank’s history Check it: Repeat buyer, FDIC, the bank’s history, opens in a new tab
Context Repeat buyer
Met
The deal has closed and the conversion is expected in November, but its costs are already low. So the research says to open on the conversion date, not on cost.
The research tool’s own record: every trait, with its evidence and sources.
Your market is constantly moving.
We re-ran the research on three banks as of the first of each month from June, and again on 18 September, using only what was public on each date. Where something happened, the read moved. Where nothing did, it held.
Three banks, read as of five dates
ReplayEach cell is one read of the bank. The last cell is the published read the rest of this page shows.
How to read the cells: a teal dot means the bank was worth engaging at that read, a ring around it means a score moved past the last read, the mark on each timing bar is 55, and a number on the line before a read is a dated event, listed under the bank.
Butler, Pennsylvania
Fit rose on a job posting and a higher staff count. Timing rose when its merger closed.
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After event 1.
Read as of 1 June 2026: fit 25, timing 85.
First read: its 8 May deal to buy Riverside is the only fit trait that counts.
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After event 2.
Read as of 1 July 2026: fit 42, timing 85. Fit up 17 on the last read.
Fit rose: a loan-servicing role posted on 24 June counts as operations hiring.
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Read as of 1 August 2026: fit 42, timing 82.
Held: the deal is still waiting to close, and nothing else has changed.
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After event 3.
Read as of 1 September 2026: fit 67, timing 88. Fit up 25 on the last read. Timing up 6 on the last read.
Timing rose: the merger closed on 31 August. Fit rose: Q2 staff up 17% in three years.
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Read as of 18 September 2026: fit 67, timing 88.
Held: the operational merger is due in November.
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Published read
Published read of 18 September 2026: fit 67, timing 92.
The read the rest of this page shows: one run, which could also see job postings.
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Before the first read
Agreed to buy Riverside Bank of Dublin, Ohio.
PR Newswire, archived copy Check it (PR Newswire, archived copy, opens in a new tab)
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Posted a loan-servicing role that boards loans onto its core system.
Job listing No link: job ads come down
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Its merger with Riverside legally closed. The operational merger is due in November.
PR Newswire Check it (PR Newswire, opens in a new tab)
Elberton, Georgia
Timing fell from 93 to 58 as its systems conversion went from ahead of it to behind it.
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After event 1.
Read as of 1 June 2026: fit 67, timing 93.
First read: merged on 1 April, with its systems conversion still to come.
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After event 2.
Read as of 1 July 2026: fit 83, timing 84. Timing down 9 on the last read.
Timing fell: its conversion and rebrand were announced complete on 17 June. Fit rose, but one June run had already read 83.
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After event 3.
Read as of 1 August 2026: fit 83, timing 62.
Timing slipped, but its three runs split (70, 55, 62), so it does not count as a move.
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Read as of 1 September 2026: fit 67, timing 72. Fit down 16 on the last read.
Worth engaging in 2 of 3 runs
Fit fell: the read stopped counting its online banking as mid-change.
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Read as of 18 September 2026: fit 67, timing 58.
Timing ends at 58, its lowest, three months after the conversion was done.
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Published read
Published read of 18 September 2026: fit 83, timing 78.
The read the rest of this page shows: one run, which could also see job postings.
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Before the first read
Absorbed Morris Bank of Dublin, Georgia, and took the name Vallant Bank.
FDIC record Check it (FDIC record, opens in a new tab)
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Announced its systems conversion and rebrand complete.
Business Wire, archived copy Check it (Business Wire, archived copy, opens in a new tab)
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Reported $8.0M of one-time merger costs in its second quarter.
Business Wire release, on AOL Check it (Business Wire release, on AOL, opens in a new tab)
Mattoon, Illinois
Held: fit 83 and timing 88 to 92 at every read, through a conversion weekend.
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After event 1.
Read as of 1 June 2026: fit 83, timing 88.
First read: its Two Rivers conversion weekend is set for 12 to 15 June.
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After event 2.
Read as of 1 July 2026: fit 83, timing 88.
Held: it absorbed Two Rivers on 12 June, the first day of that weekend.
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After event 3.
Read as of 1 August 2026: fit 83, timing 88.
Held: its 23 July results put $7.1M of Two Rivers costs in the quarter, and neither score moved.
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Read as of 1 September 2026: fit 83, timing 92.
Q2 call report: the first to include Two Rivers, at $9.14B in assets.
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Read as of 18 September 2026: fit 83, timing 92.
Held: the same fit and timing as on 1 September, with nothing new.
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Published read
Published read of 18 September 2026: fit 83, timing 88.
The read the rest of this page shows: one run, which could also see job postings.
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Before the first read
Bought Two Rivers Financial Group, with its accounts due to convert in June.
SEC filing Check it (SEC filing, opens in a new tab)
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Absorbed Two Rivers Bank & Trust of Burlington, Iowa.
FDIC record Check it (FDIC record, opens in a new tab)
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Reported $7.1M of Two Rivers acquisition costs in its second quarter.
SEC filing Check it (SEC filing, opens in a new tab)
How we made these: on 29 September 2026 we ran the same research on these banks as of each date, letting it see only what was public then. That means three things: dated news and releases, the Internet Archive’s copies of each bank’s website, and call reports, which come out 45 days after the quarter ends, so 1 September is the first read to see Q2. Job boards keep no history, so a back-dated read sees a posting only if it is still online and carries its own date, as NexTier’s 24 June listing did. Each read is the median of three runs, because one run can drift, and a score counts as moved only when all three runs passed the last read’s range. These are reconstructions, not a record of monitoring.
See every run behind these reads
Each bank’s fit and timing read by read, with all three runs of every read. The numbers on the charts are the events listed with each bank above.
NexTier Bank
Butler, Pennsylvania
Fit rose on a job posting and a higher staff count. Timing rose when its merger closed.
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Agreed to buy Riverside Bank of Dublin, Ohio. PR Newswire, archived copy
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Posted a loan-servicing role that boards loans onto its core system. Job listing
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Its merger with Riverside legally closed. The operational merger is due in November. PR Newswire
Fit how closely it matches TieOut’s ideal customer
Timing how much dated evidence says now is the moment
Vallant Bank
Elberton, Georgia
Timing fell from 93 to 58 as its systems conversion went from ahead of it to behind it.
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Absorbed Morris Bank of Dublin, Georgia, and took the name Vallant Bank. FDIC record
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Announced its systems conversion and rebrand complete. Business Wire, archived copy
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Reported $8.0M of one-time merger costs in its second quarter. Business Wire release, on AOL
Fit how closely it matches TieOut’s ideal customer
Timing how much dated evidence says now is the moment
First Mid Bank & Trust
Mattoon, Illinois
Held: fit 83 and timing 88 to 92 at every read, through a conversion weekend.
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Bought Two Rivers Financial Group, with its accounts due to convert in June. SEC filing
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Absorbed Two Rivers Bank & Trust of Burlington, Iowa. FDIC record
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Reported $7.1M of Two Rivers acquisition costs in its second quarter. SEC filing
Fit how closely it matches TieOut’s ideal customer
Timing how much dated evidence says now is the moment
Every read as a table
| Bank | Read as of | Fit | Fit runs | Timing | Timing runs | Worth engaging | What the read shows |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NexTier Bank | 25 | 25, 25, 25 | 85 | 85, 85, 88 | 3 of 3 | First read: its 8 May deal to buy Riverside is the only fit trait that counts. | |
| NexTier Bank | 42 (moved) | 42, 42, 42 | 85 | 85, 85, 88 | 3 of 3 | Fit rose: a loan-servicing role posted on 24 June counts as operations hiring. | |
| NexTier Bank | 42 | 42, 42, 42 | 82 | 85, 82, 82 | 3 of 3 | Held: the deal is still waiting to close, and nothing else has changed. | |
| NexTier Bank | 67 (moved) | 67, 67, 67 | 88 (moved) | 92, 88, 88 | 3 of 3 | Timing rose: the merger closed on 31 August. Fit rose: Q2 staff up 17% in three years. | |
| NexTier Bank | 67 | 67, 67, 42 | 88 | 88, 88, 85 | 3 of 3 | Held: the operational merger is due in November. | |
| Vallant Bank | 67 | 83, 67, 67 | 93 | 93, 93, 93 | 3 of 3 | First read: merged on 1 April, with its systems conversion still to come. | |
| Vallant Bank | 83 | 83, 83, 83 | 84 (moved) | 58, 84, 85 | 3 of 3 | Timing fell: its conversion and rebrand were announced complete on 17 June. Fit rose, but one June run had already read 83. | |
| Vallant Bank | 83 | 83, 83, 83 | 62 | 70, 55, 62 | 3 of 3 | Timing slipped, but its three runs split (70, 55, 62), so it does not count as a move. | |
| Vallant Bank | 67 (moved) | 67, 67, 67 | 72 | 72, 48, 74 | 2 of 3 | Fit fell: the read stopped counting its online banking as mid-change. | |
| Vallant Bank | 67 | 67, 67, 67 | 58 | 58, 68, 58 | 3 of 3 | Timing ends at 58, its lowest, three months after the conversion was done. | |
| First Mid Bank & Trust | 83 | 83, 83, 83 | 88 | 88, 88, 90 | 3 of 3 | First read: its Two Rivers conversion weekend is set for 12 to 15 June. | |
| First Mid Bank & Trust | 83 | 83, 83, 83 | 88 | 82, 88, 88 | 3 of 3 | Held: it absorbed Two Rivers on 12 June, the first day of that weekend. | |
| First Mid Bank & Trust | 83 | 83, 83, 83 | 88 | 88, 88, 82 | 3 of 3 | Held: its 23 July results put $7.1M of Two Rivers costs in the quarter, and neither score moved. | |
| First Mid Bank & Trust | 83 | 83, 83, 83 | 92 | 88, 92, 92 | 3 of 3 | Q2 call report: the first to include Two Rivers, at $9.14B in assets. | |
| First Mid Bank & Trust | 83 | 83, 83, 83 | 92 | 92, 92, 88 | 3 of 3 | Held: the same fit and timing as on 1 September, with nothing new. |
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