Alliance Partners Announces Completion of $150 Million Capital Raise

Capital Supports Continued Growth of the Market Leading Platform

CHEVY CHASE, Md., June 19, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Alliance Partners, the asset manager for the pioneering BancAlliance bank network, announced today that it has completed a $150 million capital raise that will support BancAlliance by delivering a broader range of commercial loans and other products to its member banks.  This capital raise included current investors, such as BlackRock, John Delaney and Jason Fish, as well as a new investor, BlueMountain Capital Management LLC.  BlueMountain, which made a significant investment, is a private investment company with deep credit and lending expertise and a focus on investments in leading edge financial services platforms. BlueMountain and BlackRock will support the existing management team in their efforts to expand the array of products and services available to members of the BancAlliance network, which currently has 56 member banks in 26 states. 

"Our capital partners will help us to better serve the community banks that comprise BancAlliance," said Lee Sachs, CEO of Alliance Partners. "These important investments and resources position us well to continue building the BancAlliance network by providing our members an even broader array of high quality loans."

"We joined BancAlliance as we are anxious to increase our commercial loan portfolio in both volume and diversity," said Arthur C. Johnson, Chairman and CEO of United Bank of Michigan, member of the BancAlliance Board of Directors and a past chairman of the American Bankers Association.  "We also want to have the ability to finance larger projects in our own community than our current size permits. With these new developments, BancAlliance will help us to achieve these multiple objectives."

"We are excited to be affiliated with the BancAlliance network," said Andrew Feldstein, CEO and Chief Investment Officer of BlueMountain. "We share the company's vision for meaningfully contributing to the financial success of Main Street banks serving their local communities.  We see great potential in this innovative business model."

BancAlliance is a consortium of leading community and regional banks organized to evaluate and fund corporate commercial and industrial (C&I) loans and related services designed to improve the safety, profitability, and competiveness of community banks. The BancAlliance platform allows members to access high quality loans, deploy excess liquidity, and increase profitability.  BancAlliance's governance and credit management standards promote prudent diversification in a manner consistent with the highest regulatory standards – without changing the nature or mission of the community bank.

BancAlliance was founded by John Delaney, a financial services entrepreneur who founded and led two successful NYSE listed financial services firms and Lee Sachs, former Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, in December 2010. Member institutions represent many of the nation's strongest banks, and range in size from $100 million to $10 billion in assets. The collective lending capacity of the membership makes BancAlliance equivalent to one of the 50 largest banks in the country.

BancAlliance is governed by a Board of Directors composed of nine member banks, elected annually by the members of BancAlliance, and two representatives from Alliance Partners. Loan opportunities are identified, underwritten and serviced by Alliance Partners in accordance with the underwriting and credit policies and procedures adopted by the BancAlliance Board of Directors.

About BancAlliance

The BancAlliance network is a shared commercial and industrial (C&I) loan platform that identifies, evaluates, and refers loan opportunities to its community and regional bank members. The network enables members, the banks that direct the network's activities, to both acquire high-quality commercial and industrial loans and develop relationships with larger borrowers in their market. BancAlliance has more than 50 member banks, located in 26 states, with over $2 billion allocated to the program. 

About Alliance Partners

Alliance Partners is an asset management and services firm in complete service to its financial institution and institutional investor clients, and it operates with the fundamental belief that there is power in scale and collaboration.  It is the asset manager for the BancAlliance network, seeking to deliver value-creating outcomes to all of the banks that have chosen to join BancAlliance as members. 

SOURCE BancAlliance