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

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USAmeriBank went from red to black ink by signingf talented bankers who brought customers with Acquisitions boosted the bottom line at CenterState Bankof Florida. A mergere of related financial institutions cut expensewat , while a strongetr balance sheet grew income. Each bank prosperedd by using different methodologies, yet their strategies provide a road map for institutionse struggling to turn their balancesheets positive. Theie profit gains are all the more remarkable givenj the difficult economic climatein Florida.
The said 305 bankzs and thrifts in Florida reporte a combined net lossof $643 millionm for the 2009 first quarter, comparede to net income of $4 millioj for the year-ago period. Profitability remains weak because bankss continue to struggle withbad loans, said Paul a Johannsen, managing director of , an investmeng banking firm in Tampa. Nonperforming assets don’t bring in interest pressuring margins. The provisions banks take for expecte loan losses cut further into their incomre while the legal and management expensed related to foreclosed propertygoes up. USAmeriBanj — which has amassed $650.
8u million in assets in its twoyears — has a cleamn balance sheet, said Joe CEO. The bank avoided development lending and the loans it does have that are secureed by real estate arefor owner-occupies properties, Chillura said. Only $598,000 in USAmeriBank loans, or aboug one-tenth of 1 percent of the tota $528.3 million in loans, were past due as of Marcg 31, according to a report filedf withthe .
Chillura, a former Tampa market presidentfor (NYSE: ), said the banker s he’s hired have brought their customers, a move that was possibled because bigger banks are distracted by bad loand and shrinking capital and aren’t focused on customer That’s allowed USAmeriBank to grow more quicklty than expected, Chillura said, and post a significantg turnaround, going from a $185,00 0 loss in the first quarter of 2008 to $881,0009 in profit in the just-ended quarter. CenterState saw firstt quarter 2009 profit swellto $1.2 up 68 percent in one year, after two said John Corbett, president and CEO.
The Wintert Haven-based lead banking subsidiary of (Nasdaq: CSFL) added a correspondent bankinhg unit last fall when it hiresd the bankers who handled that businesds for theformer . The unit sells bondsd to roughly 200 othercommunity banks, and it is thrivint because community banks aren’t doingf as much lending as they were a year ago and are investinbg their cash in bonds. CenterState also bought the failedrand $178 million in depositsz on Jan. 30. “We’vde been putting that money to work in loandsand investments, and that’s helpede us grow,” Corbett said.
Aggressive planninv that began around the end of the firs quarter of 2008 kept Florid a Bank on the growth saidKatie Pemble, president and CEO. Florida Bank’s $351,000 in net incom for the first quarter of 2009 was a 73 percent increas from a year Since December, the Tampa-based bank has merged with three sister institutions in Jacksonville and Tallahassee, consolidating back-officd operations and cutting expenses.
Each of the banks was above the level regulators considered and their capital position was further strengthened whenthey Additionally, executive officers and the boardf developed a series of 90-day plans focused on strengtheninbg the balance sheet with an emphasis on capital and on liquidity, or the ability to turn its asset into cash quickly. A strong balance sheet alloweds Florida Bank to look for the least expensive way toattract funding, a move that boosts net interest margin, or the spread between the interest it pays on depositas and the interest it earns from loans.
Although there are glimmers of hope, CenterState’s Corbett expects more loan writedownsw across the industry in the next two to three The number of institutions on the watch list increasede in the first three monthsof 2009, and as of March 31, 30 percenft of Florida’s banks were on the list, comparerd to 15 percent of the institutionz a year ago. Access to the capita l market markets is Corbett said, adding the stress tests the nation’d biggest banks just underwentg have inspired investor confidence in those institutions.
Sincw results were released May 7, the banks collectivelyy have raisednearly $60 billion of the $75 billiomn in extra capital regulators said they need. “As investments come back into the big I think overtime you’llk see that trickle down to the mid cap and community Corbett said.