Less than a year after breaking ground on its new branch location at U.S. Highway 192 and Old Hickory Tree Road, BankFlorida officially cut the ribbon on it Thursday.
Construction began on it back in December, and it becomes the bank’s second office in Osceola County after feeding off the success of its Kissimmee location that opened in 2021 and has already reached $135 million in total deposits and loans.
“That’s strong. It took us seven years to reach $100 million with our first bank (in the 1990s),” said BankFlorida Market President Tom White, who has worked with this banking model with other local banking franchises for over three decades. “This gives us a market presence in St. Cloud, which is booming. This fits our community bank footprint.”
That community bank model, where all decisions are made at the local level, is different than larger regional banks, where White says decisions are made out of town, or state, which can take more time.
“They need to make a call to Atlanta, or Charlotte, or wherever to get a decision made,” White said. “We can service loans faster, which means more loans, and we can be more flexible with them. And, being a community bank, we get to know our customers — if we don’t already know them. And over 50 percent of our stockholders live and work in Osceola County. Those stockholders are likely to bank with you, that helps your investment and creates a built-in customer base that is local who know this market, which is a unique market.”
White said he’s looking for more local locations to invest in in the coming years.
