Hilltop Holdings Inc (HTH)

[56Chevy]

Guaranty has about 160 branches in Texas and California. About 100 of them are in Texas. It's unclear if regulators would sell the bank as a whole or in pieces.

"Texas would be a terrific state for any acquirer," said Stephen Skaggs, president of the Bank Advisory Group LLC in Austin.

"People have perceived that Texas has a demographic profile that would result in growth that would surpass the nation's," he said. "That proved to be true throughout the late '90s and early 2000s.
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A couple of comments & question sort of un-related to this bank but related to the comments made above.

I've heard that Texas did experience less of this recessions' wrath than most...is that a fair statement?

I've also noticed that housing costs in Texas are way under national averages...which indicates to me they're probably more in line with the actual value of a home as opposed to the west coast & Florida where homes prices were nowhere near reality. How did Texas avoid (for the most part) the "flipper bubble" iyo?