About Michael F. Richards, a Financial Expert Witness

Michael F. Richards is a native of California. After graduating in 1975 from the University of California, Davis, with a B.S Degree in Animal Science. He began his banking career with Crocker Bank as an Agricultural Loan Officer Trainee in Fresno, CA. Quickly rising through the ranks and moving to several branches, he became a Branch Manager in Marysville, CA, opening a new bank for Crocker Bank. This was the beginning of the experience he would gain on his path towards becoming a consultant and finance expert witness.

In 1984, Michael F. Richards moved to Billings, MT, taking the job of a Vice President Commercial Loan Officer for First Bank. In this role, he was appointed to the Loan Committee and responsible for reviewing all loans before they were presented to the Board of Directors. Recognizing his talents, the Regional Director for the State of Montana, requested that he organize a workout department for First Bank in Billings, MT, under the name First Bank Systems Credit Services. Michael was appointed Vice President/Site Manager of the newly formed department, hiring four loan officers and two assistants. After several years and many successes, the department was phased out. Not wanting to relocate to a different state, he decided to leave First Bank and move to Bozeman, MT, for Montana Bank. In this position, he was responsible for the banks in Bozeman and Livingston.  His experience as director of these banks helped him establish the knowledge he uses in his expert witness services.

Beginning in 1989, Michael entered the field of community banking as a president and organizer of Big Sky Western Bank in Big Sky, MT. He started and operated this bank for 12 years until it was merged into the Glacier Bank System in 1999. He remained president and director until 2001. Following this, he helped Mountain West Bank and Heritage Bank establish their new banks in the Bozeman community. In 2004 he began organizing and founded Bank of Bozeman, opening it in 2005. He continued as the president, ceo, and a board director until 2009.

Moving Into Consulting

In 2009, Michael F. Richards began his consulting and expert witness career. He is qualified as an expert witness and banking litigation support specialist and has provided expert testimony for both plaintiffs and defendants. Through December 2023, he has been retained by attorneys in 39 states plus Puerto Rico as an expert witness on over 140 cases. He has extensive experience writing expert witness reports that meet the Federal Rule for Civil Procedure 26. He has testified in arbitration cases as well as before federal and state courts. He has also been a finance expert witness in federal white-collar crime cases and provided expert reports for Bankruptcy Fair Interest Rate Calculations. He has also been retained in cases involving the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).