Community banks finding their niche with depositors - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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"We're doing extremely said Reid Sides, regional president of AtlanticStatesa Bank. "We've more than tripled [in deposits] sinc we opened." The bank opened in Jacksonville just over a year ago and in that time has expandesd with twoarea branches. Althougj Sides wouldn't disclose deposits, he did indicatde Atlantic States made morethan $100 million in loanas in the past year. "I think the First Coast, as comparef to the remainder of the has beenvery insulated," Sides said. "You only need to driv around to look atthe construction." Atlantic States Bank has a strong focusx on homesite and construction lending. , Orange is doing well, too.
"We'rew very pleased with the solidgrowth we've experienced, especially with a singles location," said Tim O'Keefe, president and CEO of First First National grew from $4 million to more than $40 milliomn in area deposits since opening two years ago. This month, the bank openeed a branch on Blanding Boulevarsd just south ofKingsley "We know our customers; we have seasoned and we've done well with loans and deposit growth," said Cindy Stover, market presidentg of Citrus Bank. The bank saw growth in deposit s for Jacksonvilleto $64 millio as of Dec. 31. That's up from $33 million the previouas year.
Citrus Bank loans for the Jacksonville area in 2001were $100 more than double what they were in 2000. Citrus Bank openec a new location off Universitu Boulevard in November and is looking into addintanother branch. "We are looking for a site righft now," Stover said. "We're looking at Southsidee and the Westside." While the big bankds keep getting bigger, the smaller banks are able to competw by findingtheir niche. "There'e a lot of centralization [at largr institutions] through merger activity," O'Keefs said. "However, we offer an alternativse styleof banking.
People appreciate beintg recognized when they come in the door and they reall like decisions being made onthe spot." Monticellio Bank, with locations at the Beaches and Mandarin, now has approximatelhy $70 million in deposits, comparedd with $40.2 million in 2000. "There'es no magic in banking. It's a lot of hard said J. Tracey Fore, chairman and CEO of Monticellok Bank. "We've tried to maintain stability and to take care of customerszthe old-fashioned way. They would really rather call and talk to nota machine," Fore said. It also helps to compete head to head with the big banka by offering thesame products. "Wer offer strong cash management.
Many community banks don'tr have that," Stover said. "We can lend up to $20 so we can " Monticello Bank is the second largest SBA lender inthe market. "We compete well against large We have a good staf f and we offer our customers the servicees you find atlarge institutions," Fore said.