Locally owned community bank breaks ground on new branch in region

ST. PETERSBURG — St. Petersburg-based First Home Bank last week broke ground on its eighth banking center in the Tampa Bay region, and second in Sarasota.

The new branch, according to a news release, will be located at 2075 S. Tamiami Trail. Construction of the 6,000-square-foot building will begin in January; it is expected to open in late 2022 or early 2023.

“Expanding First Home’s presence in the Sarasota area has been a long-term goal for some time now,” First Home Bank Sarasota Market President Tom Quale states in the release. “We look forward to providing more area residents with the personalized service and high-quality products our customers expect and proving our on-going commitment to the Sarasota community as a whole.”

The new branch, the release states, will feature two drive-up banking lanes, an ATM and an electric vehicle charging station that will be available free to the public.

Also this week, First Home Bank opened its fifth full-service banking center in Pinellas County. The branch is located at 401 N. Indian Rocks Road in Belleair Bluffs. 

“The opening of the Belleair Bluffs banking center is an important aspect of our key strategic initiative to expand our footprint and core banking franchise in the Tampa Bay region,” First Home Bank CEO Anthony Leo states in the release. “While other financial institutions are closing offices, we continue to open new banking centers to offer area residents and business owners the personal service and current technology our customers expect.”

First Home Bank (NASDAQ: BAFN) reported more than $43.7 million in gross revenue in 2020, up from $25.7 million in 2019. It ended the third quarter of 2021 with $943.74 million in total assets.