First Horizon CFO Hope Dmuchowski is quick to emphasize that mergers and acquisitions are not a priority for the Memphis, Tennessee-based lender, which has its own organic growth plans. 

“But banks go for sale sometimes, and we're not going to say no, so I think that's a differentiation,” she said in a Thursday interview. “If an investment banker comes – ‘This bank is for sale, selling in the next 30 days. Are you interested?’ We're going to run the math.”

Buying a small bank in Raleigh, North Carolina, would hold particular appeal, Dmuchowski said, noting there’s “probably a dozen” privately owned lenders with a handful of branches in that market, whose owners are ready to retire. 

That would be a community bank “in the billion-dollar range, maybe two or three, but not $30 billion,” she said. “We're not looking for anything material.”

Dmuchowski noted such an acquisition would offer First Horizon a leg up in a high-growth market such as Raleigh, where it’s become difficult for the $83.9 billion-asset bank to find quality sites on which to build branches given the competition for sought-after, end-cap retail locations.

“If we can buy a bank in Raleigh that has six branches, and I don't have to go build six, and they're open 30 days from now, or 60 days, after we close, that accelerates our growth plan,” she said.

A number of analysts covering the company have labeled it a takeover target in recent months, as bigger bank M&A gets the green light from regulators. Toronto-based lender TD sought to acquire First Horizon for $13.4 billion in 2022, but that deal was terminated the following year. 

During the bank’s third-quarter earnings call in October, First Horizon CEO Bryan Jordan surprised some by saying the bank is “increasingly confident in our ability to integrate a well-structured merger,” although he underscored the “optionality” the bank is intent on.   

Dmuchowski reiterated that stance Thursday. “The better we perform, if a bank buys us, they're going to have to pay more,” she said. “The better we perform, the more optionality we have to buy a bank and make our shareholders more profitable.”

Dmuchowski had only been at First Horizon about two months when the TD offer came in, but the bid was an obvious “yes” in her eyes. “It was going to be the highest premium ever paid to a U.S. bank, and it was all cash,” she said. “You have to say yes.” 

“We're not for sale,” she said. “But we've already proven that if an offer comes our way, our board's going to do the right thing. I think that puts us in a unique place.” 

Hiring, branch growth 

Within its 12-state footprint, the lender is particularly focused on growth in North and South Carolina, Florida and Texas, where it’s building new branches and hiring bankers. 

First Horizon aims to add four or five branches in Raleigh in the next 12 months, Dmuchowski said. She declined to share a total number of branches the bank seeks to build across those markets. 

The bank added 117 new full-time employees in the second half of 2025, mostly in client-facing roles. Dmuchowski said she expects more of that type of hiring this year, although she declined to share an estimate. 

“We have a larger banker force than maybe some of the big banks, but that's because we want our bankers constantly in touch with their clients,” she said, adding that she sees the “banker-led relationship” as a differentiator as more banks chase growth in First Horizon’s territory. 

The hiring and branch opening efforts dovetail, Dmuchowski noted. 

“Bankers want to go somewhere where there's name recognition with the bank. They also like new branches, because it gives them that billboard, gives the commitment to the market,” she said. “It's really hard to bring a banker over and they say, ‘Well, none of my clients know who you are. You haven't committed to the market.’”

Tech investments are crucial, too, she said. “You're not going to recruit new bankers unless you have good systems and good products,” she said.

After launching a new treasury management system last year, First Horizon plans to roll out a consumer digital platform it’s building in-house in the second half of the year, she said. 

The bank has sought to wipe out the “tech debt” that accumulated after the 2020 merger of equals with IberiaBank and the scrapped TD acquisition, Dmuchowski said.

The new digital platform is part of a goal to grow the bank’s consumer segment. Shaun McDougall joined the bank in August as head of consumer banking – a newly created role – and is coming up with his own retail distribution strategy, she said. 

Consumer banking makes up about 23% of the bank’s total loan portfolio, at $14.7 billion, and about 42% of its deposits, at $28 billion, according to fourth-quarter earnings materials. 

In the next two to three years, “we're expecting great growth out of our consumer franchise as we continue to invest in it and transform it,” she said. 

Tracking industry change 

On the regulatory front, as Trump administration appointees roll back Biden-era rules and regulations, Dmuchowski said she expects more consistency in the next few years.

“The biggest change and the biggest benefit for me sitting in the CFO seat has been the pace of change,” she said. 

She pointed to the “dozens of new rules” that Biden-appointed bank regulators pursued in quick succession. “It's really hard to constantly react to that type of changing regulatory environment,” she said.

The bank, like many, awaits clarity on capital requirements, Dmuchowski said. Regulatory threshold adjustments could lift the asset mark for Category IV banks – currently $100 billion – which “would be very nice for us,” she said.  

“It allows us to grow without that incremental operating structure, additional capital,” she said. Still, the bank has done the “no-regrets work” to become a large financial institution, including stress testing, she said.

The CFO is also watching for stablecoin rules and related developments.

“The industry is changing so quickly,” Dmuchowski said, “staying on top of that and being prepared for it all” is a top priority. 

“How do we keep growing, competing and what are the new disruptors in our industry that we can be a part of?” she said.