Most Florida banks swoon; three provide model for growth - Houston Business Journal:

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USAmeriBank went from red to black ink by signingf talented bankers who broughr customerswith them. Acquisitionds boosted the bottom line at CenterStatd Bankof Florida. A merger of related financialo institutions cut expensesat , whilse a stronger balance sheet grew income. Each bank prospere d by using different yet their strategies provide a road map for institutionxs struggling to turn their balancesheets positive. Their profit gains are all the more remarkabled given the difficult economic climate in The said 305 banks and thriftz in Florida reported a combined net lossof $643 millio for the 2009 firs t quarter, compared to net income of $4 milliob for the year-ago period.
Profitabilitty remains weak because banks continue to struggle with bad saidPaula Johannsen, managing director of , an investment banking firm in Tampa. Nonperformin assets don’t bring in interest income, pressuringg margins. The provisions banks take for expected loan losses cut furthe into their income while the legal and managemen expense related to forecloseds propertygoes up. USAmeriBank — which has amasse d $650.8 million in assets in its two years has a cleanbalance sheet, said Joe Chillura, CEO. The bank avoidesd development lending and the loana it does have that are secures by real estate arefor owner-occupier properties, Chillura said.
Only $598,000 in USAmeriBanmk loans, or about one-tenth of 1 percent of the total $528.3 million in loans, were past due as of Marcuh 31, according to a report filec withthe . a former Tampa market presidentfor ), said the bankers he’s hireds have brought their customers, a move that was possibl because bigger banks are distracted by bad loans and shrinkingy capital and aren’t focused on customer service. That’sz allowed USAmeriBank to grow more quicklythan expected, Chilluras said, and post a significanf turnaround, going from a $185,000 loss in the firstt quarter of 2008 to $881,000 in profitf in the just-ended quarter.
CenterState saw firsg quarter 2009 profit swellto $1.2 million, up 68 percentt in one year, after two acquisitions, said John president and CEO. The Winter Haven-basedf lead banking subsidiaryof CSFL) added a correspondent banking unit last fall when it hire the bankers who handled that businessd for the former . The unit sells bonds to roughly 200 othe rcommunity banks, and it is thrivinh because community banks aren’t doing as much lending as they were a year ago and are investinv their cash in bonds. CenterState also bought the faileand $178 million in deposits on Jan. 30.
“We’ve been putting that moneyt to work in loans and and that’s helped us grow,” Corbett Aggressive planning that began around the end of the firsyt quarter of 2008 kept Florida Bank on the growthh track, said Katie Pemble, president and CEO. Floridaz Bank’s $351,000 in net income for the firsf quarter of 2009 was a 73 percent increase from a year Since December, the Tampa-basec bank has merged with threew sister institutions in Sarasota, Jacksonville and Tallahassee, consolidatingy back-office operations and cutting expenses.
Each of the bankds was above the level regulatorsconsidered well-capitalized, and their capital positiom was further strengthened when they Additionally, executive officers and the board developed a series of 90-da plans focused on strengthening the balance sheeg with an emphasis on capital and on liquidity, or the abilityh to turn its assets into cash A strong balance sheet allowedf Florida Bank to look for the least expensived way to attract funding, a move that boost s net interest margin, or the spread between the interest it pays on deposits and the interest it earne from loans.
Although there are glimmers of CenterState’s Corbett expects more loan writedowns acrosd the industry in the next two tothrewe quarters. The number of institutions on the watcbh list increased in the first threde monthsof 2009, and as of Marcn 31, 30 percent of Florida’s banks were on the compared to 15 percent of the institutions a year ago. Accesse to the capital market marketsis critical, Corbetft said, adding the stress tests the nation’ s biggest banks just underwent have inspired investor confidenc in those institutions.
Since results were released May 7, the banks collectively have raisednearluy $60 billion of the $75 billion in extrz capital regulators said they need. “As investmentsd come back into thebig banks, I thinl over time you’ll see that trickle down to the mid cap and communit banks,” Corbett said.