Startup SWFL bank adds office less than a year after debut

Gulf Coast Business Bank, the first community bank to open in Southwest Florida in 12 years, is expanding — not even a year after it first launched. 

The Fort Myers-based bank, according to a statement, recently opened a loan production office in Naples. The new Collier County office is at 6621 Willow Park Drive, off Airport-Pulling Road, and will be used for meetings with Collier County clients.

“GCBB is constantly seeking out ways to help this community and having an office in Collier County prior to opening a branch will allow for more opportunity in the Naples area,” Gulf Coast Business Bank President and CEO Bill Blevins says in the release. “We are excited for what this will offer our Collier County clients, both current and future. We continue to build a community presence with our experienced colleagues and are excited to be a part of building Southwest Florida into a strong community.”

GCCB is owned by shareholders in Lee and Collier Counties. It opened in June 2022. Blevins, a 30-year banking industry veteran, founded the bank. Blevins and the local board and organizer group “invested more than $5 million of the minimum $20.5 million in capital needed to open the bank,” according to the GCCB website. 

Blevins, according to a previous Business Observer story, worked for banks in Dallas before coming to Southwest Florida in 1987. First he worked for big banks, doing commercial loans and overseeing lending teams at Bank of America and Wells Fargo. He later spent a decade at Encore Bank as Lee County market executive, staying on for three years after Lake Michigan Credit Union acquired the $400 million-asset bank in 2018.