Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator Instructions) We will take our first question from Youssef Squali with Jefferies.
Youssef Squali - Jefferies
Thank you very much and Tom, congrats on the deal; a couple of quick ones. First on the deposit side, can you talk a little bit more about pricing, the pricing environment? Earlier this year, you had instituted about an 11% increase and basically through early second quarter, year-over-year was that you had not really seen any pushback. Is it really, mostly volume or are you seeing prices also being obviously coming under pressure to try and maintain volume? Secondarily, not going to ask questions on the deal, but one of the drivers arguably for the deal was, and this is something you just referred to, your ability to maybe do some M&A to position yourself right.
Can you talk about what it is that you're seeing? What is the M&A environment? Have the prices actually improved to a point where it makes you want to actually be more active right now? Thanks.
Tom Evans
Thanks Youssef. First about deposit pricing; honestly, we are not seeing or hearing from people that pricing is an issue. It really is all volume and you've got a couple of things that happen. As I said, there are fewer banks that are trying to raise deposit capital through consumers and the rates at which they are offering today are nowhere near as attractive as they were. So that's been a decline. But it is not the fact that we raised prices.
We are doing some work right now and have been through this year, working with a couple of those advertisers where we are having a window in the back end. I can tell you that the results from the consumers who are coming and are clicking and are making deposits are fantastic. When the value of the Bankrate consumer continues to be sort of second to none and we hear that time and time again.
So it is not a pricing issue. It really is the fact that it's a volume issue and if they are not loaning money at the front end of the store, they are not needing to take in capital at the back end.
In terms of the M&A activity, I don't know whether it's sort of a reconciliation of the current environment, but there's just more gearing up. There are more people that, whether it's sort of looking for a partner or looking for a safe home, looking to cash out now. But there's just more M&A activity now. I think and I believe there will be in the next as I said six to 12 months and so we want to be in a position to participate in there. Whether the prices are reasonable or more reasonable sort of remains to be seen. But I can tell you that at least some of the preliminary conversations and then things that I've heard of is people are no longer seeing visions of sugar plums as they were at one time and thinking about wacky multiples.
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