Description

Most community bank CEOs have never sold a bank. So when valuation comes up, they default to the question everyone asks:

“What multiples are banks getting right now?”

Here’s the problem: multiples are a terrible way to understand value.
They’re backward-looking, distorted by capital policy, and tell you almost nothing about what your bank is actually worth.

In this episode of the Community Bank Value™ Playbook, Kurt Knutson explains how buyers really value banks — and why CEOs who rely on multiples quietly lose leverage.

This isn’t about pricing your bank for a sale.
 It’s about understanding how value works so you can lead with clarity — and negotiate from strength if the conversation ever comes.

What You’ll Learn

• Why valuation “multiples” are misleading — even when they sound precise
• The Bank A / Bank B example that permanently debunks price-to-book shortcuts
• Why shareholders care about dollars per share, not ratios
• The hidden earnings power buyers see that most CEOs overlook
• The five valuation approaches buyers use (and why each matters)
• The six deadliest words that destroy leverage in negotiations
• What confident CEOs say to maintain leverage when buyers try to anchor price

The Bank A / Bank B Debunk (Key Insight)

Two banks. Same size. Same buyer. Same sale price.

Only difference? Capital policy.
Result: wildly different price-to-book multiples — with the same dollars to shareholders.

Multiples don’t drive value.
 They’re a result — not the cause.

The Five Valuation Approaches (Fast & Clean)

1. Drive-By Approach — Multiples (fast, lazy, negotiation tactic)
2. Competitive Approach — “We’re better than them” (emotion, not analysis)
3. Relative Value — Comparable transactions (creates a range)
4. Intrinsic Value — Discounted cash flow / future earnings expansion
5. Ability-to-Pay — What the buyer can actually pay based on returns and strategy (this is where leverage lives)

Quote to Remember

“They must know something I don’t.”
Those six words quietly destroy leverage.

Valuation knowledge acts like a life vest: it slows the conversation down and keeps rational thinking intact.

Resource Mentioned

📊 Community Bank Value™ Strategic Readiness Score
A brief, eight-question diagnostic designed to help you assess how positioned your bank is today — discreet and obligation-free.
👉 Linked here: Score

About the Show

The Community Bank Value™ Playbook is a weekly video and audio series for community bank CEOs who want clarity, control, and optionality — whether they remain independent or explore opportunities someday.

About Kurt Knutson

Kurt Knutson is a founder, former CEO, and chairman of a community bank. He has lived through every phase of a bank’s lifecycle and shares practical, experience-based insight to help CEOs lead with confidence.