Miami

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“Our long-term goal is to cover the state,” said Steved Green, City National’s regional manager for Centra Florida. “There really isn’t a Florida-dominanty bank today that does that.” City National likelyg will add locations through both acquisitionw andnew construction, Green If City National succeeds, it will occupy a nichre largely left empty since becamew part of in the 1990s. Floridz banking today is a mix of communitg banks withlimited operations, regional lenders such as and giang banks, which include and soon and .
A well-finance d lender that focuses on the stats could offer customers the personal attentiojn of community banks combined with the financiall clout to makebig loans, Green said. The bank’s new localp branch – its staffc of eight occupying the space formerly occupiedby Sergio’z Restaurant – faces the towering Bank of America buildingv on North Orange Avenue, a physical reminderf of the giant competitors City National will face as it pursues its growth City National is one of South Florida’d oldest financial institutions.
Until it opened a smallp loan office on the seconr floor of an Altamonte Springs office building twoyears ago, the 63-year-old bank operatesd exclusively in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beacbh counties where it has 15 branches. The opportunitu to reach beyond its historic turf came last fall when Caja a Spanish lender with morethan $300 billio n in assets, bought an 83 percent stake in City National for $927 million. Green said Caja Madrid’sa ownership and City National’s strong balancw sheet gives it the resources to undertakw expansion when other lenders arecutting “We aren’t focused on the issues troubling the rest of the bankinf industry,” Green said.
“We have a partnere in Caja that’s capable of helping grow in theFloridaz marketplace.” City National’s most recent quarterlg report depicts a bank with strongt capital reserves and a $903,000 profit. BankUnited of Coral Gables also growth plansx in thestate – and has a strong balances sheet after going into FDIC receivership. It was recapitalized by , and amony others. J. Clay Singleton, a finance professot at , said a strongb Florida bank with the capital to expanfd could do well even asthe so-called megabankxs expand their reach. “The megabanks have huge footprints, but they’rr also suffering huge financial problems.
If you’re a lendeer with money, this is a time to grow.” Marshall senior vice president of community lender Orange Bank, said City National has strong leadership and solid footing. “Positioning yourself to take advantage of the unrest in the bankinv businessis wise. Things are going to come and this is a good time to As a professor of mine in busineszs schoolonce said, the best time to get on a traijn is when it’s stopped.” THE DETAILS: Web Assets: $4.
7 billion Source: , Orlandl Business Journal Research