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Community National Bank Bought Out
By Bill Rettew, Jr. The former bank lobby of Community National Bank, Monday, could have easily been confused with a party site. Festive balloons hung in the air and tables were covered with goodies to eat. Bartow's locally-owned Community National Bank was purchased late Friday by CenterState Bank. Community Bank failed and was sold "without a premium" through a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation assisted transfer, according to Dale E. Dryer, senior vice president of CenterState Bank. Still, smiles were contagious, probably since staffers met with CenterState brass during the weekend and were "relieved and excited," said Dreyer. Dreyer said all employees will keep their jobs and "not a single depositor lost a penny." CenterState bought out every depositor, both those insured and uninsured, said Dreyer. The company now has 14 branches in Polk County, with 27 overall, including branches in Marion, Orange, Indian River, Okeechobee and Hendry counties. CenterState now controls 49 banks overall, with a yearly net income, as a December 31, 2009, of $4.7 million and total assets of $1.3 billion. Bud Mears, former Community president and CEO, now Bartow CenterState executive, said Monday that a 40 percent drop in residential property values and a high concentration of residential loans led to the bank failure. "It's more acceptable for people to have their house foreclosed on," said Mears. Eighty percent of the bank's loan portfolio was residential loans, which five years ago was an indicator of a strong bank. Obtaining property at diminished values through foreclosures eroded the bank's capital, said both Mears and Dreyer. Mears, with 32 years of banking experience, said he is proud and excited to be working for CenterState and "a lot of loyal customers."
CenterState takes over Community National Bank in Bartow and Independent National Bank in Ocala. The Winter Haven-based company acquired Community National Bank at Bartow and Independent National Bank in Ocala through a deal with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The takeover occurred at the close of business Friday, when the FDIC informed employees at the two banks of the change, according to bank officials. The bank branches with weekend hours opened Saturday as CenterState branches. The company now has 14 branches in Polk County and a total 27 in Florida. The addition is expected to raise the assets of its parent company, CenterState Banks Inc., to $2.3 billion, said John Corbett, president of CenterState Bank of Florida. CenterState Banks Inc. has its headquarters in Davenport. The acquisition includes Independent National Bank's four branches Marion County and Community National Bank's location in Bartow, making it CenterState's first branch in the city. "We've always had an interest in being in the county seat," Corbett said. "This is a group of people who have been there longer than anyone. What really appeals to us is the longevity of the bank and its roots in the community." Many of the branches opened Saturday to explain the acquisition to customers. They seemed to accept the change without alarm, said Dale Dreyer, head of CenterState banks in West Polk County. "It was probably reassuring to customers and clients that it was a local bank," he said. "I think it was really the best outcome for them on many fronts." George Durhan, head of CenterState Bank of Florida's banks in Marion County, said customers in the Ocala area reacted much the same. "Naturally, you've got some concern," Durhan said. "But it doesn't have quite the gut-wrenching reaction it used to because customers are realizing now the FDIC insurance fund works." The acquisition did not interrupt the deposits of customers, who are still able to access money as usual. Customers with deposits over insured limits set by the FDIC did not lose money either. The transactions are the fourth acquisitions made recently by CenterState. In July it acquired the Olde Cypress Community Bank in Clewiston in a FDIC assisted transaction. On Aug. 9, CenterState announced it would be acquiring four branches of Mercantile Bank in Putnam County. Independent National Bank, founded in 1988, had about $156 million in assets and $142 million in total deposits. Community National Bank, which dates to 1984, had about $68 million in assets and $64 million in total deposits. CenterState Bank of Florida, founded in 2000, went from a $1.1 billion institution to one of about $1.3 billion. The first-quarter report from Coral Gables-based BauerFinancial, which rates banks and credit unions based on assets, profits or losses and other factors, gave CenterState Bank of Florida five stars, its highest rating. The company intends to keep the current employees of the banks. The FDIC has closed 112 banks in the nation and 22 in Florida alone this year, the agency reports.
CenterState to Buy 4 Mercantile Bank Branches in Putnam County By citybizlist Staff WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - CenterState Banks Inc. (Nasdaq: CSFL), the parent of CenterState Bank of Florida N.A., has entered into an agreement to buy all four Putnam County, Fla., branches of Mercantile Bank, a division of South Financial Group (Nasdaq: TSFG), according to an SEC filing. The agreement by the Winter Haven, Fla.-based bank holding company includes as a party Cherry Hill, N.J.-based TD Bank N.A., whose Canadian parent TD Bank Financial Group (NYSE: TD) in May said it will buy South Financial Group, of Greenville, S.C., for $191.6 million. The merger has yet to close and faces at least one lawsuit from shareholders of South Financial. Under the agreement, CenterState will acquire the four Mercantile Bank branches with deposits of $113 million, as of June 30, and a portfolio of performing loans worth $125 million at 90 percent of its value, or $112.5 million, plus accrued and unpaid interest. Further, CenterState will have the right to return to TD Bank any acquired loan that turns delinquent or needs to be written off as a loss. The agreement will close after 90 days and has customary non-compete and termination clauses. All four branches of Olde Cypress will reopen Saturday as branches of CenterState. Depositors of Olde Cypress will automatically become depositors of CenterState. Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers to change their banking relationship in order to retain their deposit insurance coverage.
Centerstate opens first Treasure Coast branch in Vero Beach
The former home of Fletcher’s Appliance, a 4,071-square-foot building west of U.S. 1 on 20th Place, was transformed into a bank in two months in a $120,000 construction project designed by Vero architects Peirce & Associates. CenterState’s Treasure Coast Region area executive Andy Beindorf assembled a staff that consists primarily of former IRNB employees. Beindorf was president of Indian River State Bank before it was acquired and stayed on with Royal Bank of Canada after it acquired the Alabama-based company that had bought IRNB, CenterState Bank director Griffin Greene said, “CenterState is solidly established in Florida’s banking business with 38 offices in the central part of the state and $1.8 billion in assets.” Greene added, “The bank hopes to add other offices to its Treasure Coast network in the near future.” Greene is the former IRNB chairman and president of Greene River Packing in Vero Beach. CenterState Bank, an independent Florida-based bank, recently was rated five stars, the highest rating given, by BauerFinancial, an independent bank rating and research firm in Coral Gables. It is the only bank in the Treasure Coast to receive five stars. CenterState Bank of Florida N.A., based in Winter Haven, is owned by a Davenport-based holding company, Centerstate Banks Inc. of Florida N.A., which has three other divisions in the state. Including the other divisions — in Kissimmee, Valrico and Zephyrhills — the holding company now has 39 branches and combined assets of nearly $1.8 billion. That would rank it near the top 10 among Florida-based banks, and about on par with Stuart-based Seacoast National Bank. Beindorf said in a news release, “With a five-star BauerFinancial rating and nearly $2 billion in assets, we are uniquely positioned to quickly become one of the largest and strongest community banks on the Treasure Coast.” Dan Bockhorst, senior vice president and senior lender, said some loans have already been closed, including some commercial lines of credit and one residential mortgage. “Ultimately, we will probably end up with more dollars into commercial loans because they tend to be bigger,” Bockhorst said.
Where: 801 20th Place, just west of U.S. 1 between the “twin pairs” of State Road 60 east and west.
Polk Banks, Credit Unions Hold Steady
The first-quarter report from Coral Gables-based BauerFinancial shows nearly all of the county's banks and credit unions maintained their star ratings from the previous quarter. In fact, the only quarter-to-quarter change belonged to Winter Haven's Centerstate Bank of Florida, which improved its rating from four stars to five. BauerFinancial assigns star ratings based on assets, profits or losses and other factors. The ratings range from zero stars to five, with five being the best. BauerFinancial's president, Karen Dorway, said the fact that all of Polk's banks and credit unions held steady from last quarter is an encouraging sign. "That's great news with the way things have been going," Dorway said. "If you picture that we've been in a downward spiral, it appears that we're making that turn. It's not enough of a trend to say that definitively, but that looks like what's happening now." It would take four full quarters of similar results to call these signs of stability a trend, Dorway said. Dorway said BauerFinancial saw signs of stability across the state, which is especially good news because banking is a lagging indicator of the economy. "It takes (financial institutions) longer to start coming back after a downturn. It takes time for customers to fall behind on payments and time for them to catch back up," she said. "There's a feeling that banks have taken most of the losses they're going to take." Still, Dorway said, that doesn't mean we're out of the woods since unemployment remains high; 12. 1 percent in April for Polk, according to the state's Agency for Workforce Innovation, compared to 9.7 percent in April 2009. "That makes it hard to get any momentum," she said. Centerstate Bank of Florida President and CEO John Corbett attributed his institution's positive performance in the most recent report to a willingness to work with customers and give concessions when necessary. Also contributing to the added star was an improving capital ratio thanks to consistent quarterly profits - even during the downturn. In the most recent report, Centerstate Bank of Florida had a quarterly income of $1.46 million. Looking ahead, Corbett is optimistic about the financial industry, though he says the next couple of years won't be easy. "When people are upside down on a house, you don't figure that out overnight," he said. There are two changes of note in this quarter's report. Wachovia is now owned by Wells Fargo Bank N.A. Also, Riverside National Bank of Florida failed in April and merged with TD Bank NA.
CenterState Bank announces acquisition of key individuals from Silverton
Like many banks, our Bank had come to trust and rely on the products and services of Silverton Bank, especially their strong Capital Markets and Payments/Operations specialties. Further, the customer service culture and quality of their correspondent banking officers has been a consistent trademark in the southeastern community banking markets they have serviced for the past twenty years. I am pleased to announce that several key Silverton employees will be joining the CenterState Bank Correspondent Team, led by Brad Jones (Senior Vice President - Capital Markets), Kellie Endres (Senior Vice President - Payments/Operations), and Brett Rawls (Senior Vice President - Business Development and Marketing). This trio will manage our newly expanded correspondent banking division, based in Atlanta, Georgia, beginning July 6, 2009. The Capital Markets Team will consist of an elite, experienced group of investments sales professionals. Members include Joe Collins, Todd Patrick, Jim Hammack, Patty Gorman, Jim Bigger, Parker Grubbs, Rick Alspaugh, David Harris, Paul Clanton, and Kelly Crawford. Joining the Business Development Team will be Erik Bagwell, Rik Lane, Chris Wright, Shawn Gillis, Brad Reeves, and Guillermo Chiang. Brad, Kellie and Brett will continue building their teams over the next several weeks, and we will announce new additions as they join the organization. We are excited about the opportunity to work with this group of seasoned and respected correspondent bankers. Our goal is to provide banks throughout the Southeast with essential correspondent services. We look forward to expanding our existing customer relationships, while creating new ones through this enhancement to our Team.
John C. Corbett
CenterState Bank of Florida welcomes commercial lender Evie McCutcheon
Evie McCutcheon is married to Doug McCutcheon and they have 2 children. She is actively engaged in community leadership with the Community Foundation of Greater Winter Haven, Winter Haven Chamber, and various volunteer organizations.
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