Pinnacle Financial Partners Blog for Capstone Management Class

Hello, one of the topics in Chapter 3 discusses threat of rivalry as an environmental threat and barrier to entering a new market. Pinnacle in January of 2017 expanded its operations into the new markets of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia by purchasing North Carolina-based US Bancorp. This merger gives Pinnacle a new significant presence in Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, N.C., and Greenville-Spartanburg and Charleston, S.C. Had Pinnacle tried to enter these markets on its own without the acquisition, the company would have faced significant competition from competitors such as Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo, BB&T, Fifth Third, etc. Pinnacle would have had to purchase real estate for its branches and compete with existing branch locations from competitors that were already open and frequented by customers. By gobbling up U.S. Bancorp Pinnacle was able to overcome some of the significant barriers to entry and go into three new markets and compete on a level playing field with its rivals.