Iberiabank Not Done Dealing: Best in Class

LAFAYETTE, La. (TheStreet) -- It's a defiant little Southern bank determined to expand geographically and in new business lines. It has strong financial metrics, and enough cash to go on an acquisition spree, snapping up fallen peers in lucrative FDIC-supported deals.

If the story sounds familiar, it may be because the path is quite similar to the one followed by the biggest bank in the country. But the bank in question isn't Bank of America (BAC Quote), it's Iberiabank (IBKC Quote). And if you're located in Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee or Texas, it may be taking over a bank branch near you.

Iberiabank made a name for itself in late February, when it became the first bank to return the government's TARP capital in less than three months' time. CEO Daryl Bird said the bank accepted Treasury support as a healthy bank that wanted to lend. Instead, the public rhetoric, investor perception and business restrictions related to TARP put Iberiabank "at an unacceptable competitive disadvantage," Bird said.

He appears to have been correct.

While TARP banks this year have slashed dividends, curtailed lending, slashed pay and dealt with reams of souring debt, Iberiabank has grown tremendously, expanded into new markets, hired new managers, raised $173 million in private capital and kept shareholder payouts steady at 34 cents. The bank has also closed four significant deals, in FDIC-assisted transactions, giving it far more bang for the buck, with limited downside.

"We have a great deal, one that fits many of our strategic objectives, was purchased at an exceptional price ... with almost no credit risk at a bad part of the credit cycle, which we believe has a ways to go," Byrd said in describing one acquisition in May.