Fast-growing bank opens second office

LAKEWOOD RANCH —Gulfside Bank recently opened a second office, this one in Lakewood Ranch.

The office will serve as a loan production office to increase the bank’s capacity to process loans and service their customers, according to a statement.

“We have considered opening additional full-service branch locations in Sarasota and Manatee County since our inception in 2018, but with the technology available to both business and retail clients today, most people aren't frequenting bank branches anymore,” says Dennis Murphy, bank president and CEO, in a press release. “However, as a rapidly growing organization, we needed more office space for additional team members. And with so much growth happening east of Interstate 75, it was an easy decision to open our second location in Lakewood Ranch.”

The new office is located on the first floor of the Gibraltar Building in Lakewood Ranch. Gulfside Bank, founded in 2018, is now the only locally-based community bank in the Sarasota-Bradenton market after Seacoast Banking Corp. of Florida recently acquired Sarasota-based Sabal Palm Bancorp Inc., parent company of Sabal Palm Bank, in a deal valued at $53.9 million.

The bank, which opened in November 2018, has $216.25 million in assets.