Gulf Coast banks make a prime target

The battered Gulf Coast community banking industry remains an opportunity in waiting for out of state banks, and one in particular hopes to pounce on it.

That bank, Conway, Ark.-based Home BancShares, already operates in Florida through its Centennial Bank unit. Centennial has one branch each in Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda and Marco Island. It also has 36 branches spread through the Panhandle, the Keys, Orlando and the Tallahassee area.

Now the bank wants more sunshine from Florida banks.

That was the word from Home BancShares CEO Randall Sims at the KBW Boston Bank Conference March 1, reports SNL Financial, a Charlottesville, Va.-based financial analysis firm.

“We feel comfortable there, and we know what the real estate market is,” says Sims, according to SNL. “We've experienced the good and the bad of Florida. We don't know the other states.”

Sims does know, however, that community banks on the Gulf Coast have had a tough go of late. Several banks, in the region and statewide, have approached Home BancShares about a deal, SNL reports. “Some are beyond help, and some of them are tired management,” says Sims. “We've actually had to prioritize, especially in the Panhandle and the Gulf Coast, where we want to expand.”

Centennial attempted to grow its Gulf Coast presence last fall, when it made an unsuccessful bid with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for Clearwater-based Old Harbor Bank. Boca Raton-based 1st United Bank ultimately acquired the assets and deposits of Old Harbor, which state regulators seized Oct. 21.

Sims, in speaking at the conference about Florida expansion plans in general, left an ominous notion in the air. He says the company is hesitant to do traditional bank branch acquisitions in Florida, according to SNL. That's because the bank “believes there are FDIC-assisted transactions coming down the pipeline that will be very attractive.”