Community Bank buys FCBA

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Community Bank & Co. is set to acquire First Community Bank of America (FCBA) for $10 million in cash. The deal is expected to close in the middle of 2011, and will yield a single bank with more than $700 million in assets and 17 branch locations throughout the Gulf Coast.

Each bank is being represented by its parent company in the deal: Lakewood Ranch-based Community Bank is owned by CBM Florida Holding Co., and FCBA is owned by First Community Bank Corp. of America, headquartered in Pinellas Park.

CBM was established in 2008 as a vehicle for acquiring and rehabilitating underperforming banks in Florida. It acquired Community Bank (which was at that time known as Community Bank of Manatee) in December 2009; in 2010, Community issued $84 million in new loans, and earned $901,000 in profits over the year's final nine months.

To improve business at FCBA, CBM is prepared to inject $20 million in additional capital into the combined bank once the deal closes.

FCBA's struggles as a bank were widely known. In December, the bank received a zero-star rating from BauerFinancial.