Home BancShares Inc., the parent company of Centennial Bank, and Florida Business BancGroup Inc., parent company of Bay Cities Bank, are merging.
Home BancShares will acquire FBBI for $101.6 million, an amount that is the second largest paid for a Florida bank since 2007. The bank in the past three years has also bought Heritage Bank of Florida in Lutz, and Florida Traditions Bank in Dade City.
A closing date on the purchase will be in October.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
“I think it is a good thing for our shareholders,” said Gregory Bryant, Bay Cities’ president and chief executive officer.
Customers also should benefit from more services and products that can be offered by the resulting larger company.
After the acquisition, Home BancShares will have about $8.5 billion in total assets. Headquartered in Arkansas, the banking corporation has locations there and in Florida, Alabama and New York City.
“We look forward to adding Bay Cities’ experienced bankers to our team and to serving the customers of Bay Cities by providing the same friendly, local service they have grown accustomed to, while also providing increased resources through the combined franchise,” Centennial Chief Executive Officer Tracy French, said in a news release.
The Tampa-based Bay Cities brings more than $540 million in total assets, $391 million in loans and $461 million in deposits into the deal, the release states.
“We built a franchise in a good market,” Bryant said. “I think the price reflects that.”
The bank currently has six branch locations in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, and in Sarasota. There also is a loan company in Clearwater.
Details on the transition are being worked out, and it is not clear yet if any locations will close, Bryant said.
The merger is part of a trend that has emerged since the financial crisis of more than five years ago, he said.
One reason is that low interest rates are affecting banks’ operating margins. But another issue is the increase in banking regulations in response to the crisis. Smaller banks, in particular, are burdened with absorbing regulatory costs, Bryant said.
“I think there is some pressure on the banking sector that would suggest consolidation is going to continue,” he said.
Published July 15, 2015
