OppFi paid $130 million for BNCCORP and its BNC National Bank subsidiary, a cash-and-stock deal that values the Glendale, Arizona lender at 1.2 times its $107 million book value. BNCC shareholders get $19.375 per share in cash plus 1.90 OppFi shares for each BNCC share, leaving OppFi’s existing shareholders with 93% of the combined company.\n\nAt 1.2x book, the premium is thin. Comparable deals in this fintech-buys-bank wave include Enova’s December agreement to buy digital bank Grasshopper Bank and SmartBiz’s purchase of a Northbrook, Illinois-based lender last year. Charter access drives all three.\n\nWhat OppFi actually gets: a $1.1 billion-asset bank with $1 billion in deposits, OCC and Federal Reserve oversight, and an exit from its Utah bank partnerships. OppFi currently routes loans through FinWise Bank, First Electronic Bank, and Capital Community Bank, and it’s paying for charter independence. Owning BNC lets OppFi capture more economics from each subprime consumer and small-business loan it originates.\n\nThe synergy math is aggressive: $60 million in year-one synergies, $115 million by year three, and it doesn’t assume headcount reductions. OppFi is targeting 25% EPS accretion in 2027 and 40% in 2028.\n\nThe complication: OppFi paid $1.5 million in 2021 to settle Washington, D.C. interest-rate charges. California regulators separately challenged OppFi’s FinWise partnership as an illegal rent-a-bank arrangement, though a state judge this year issued a preliminary ruling in OppFi’s favor. The deal closes in Q4.\n\n— Diana Kowalski