BankFlorida bringing ‘community bank’ model to St. Cloud

BankFlorida, feeding off the success of its ‘community banking’ location in Kissimmee, has broken ground on its St. Cloud location.

The new bank building, at East U.S. Highway 192 at Old Hickory Tree Road near St. Cloud, is already coming out of the ground and should open in late spring of 2023.

“I appreciate the City of St. Cloud, St. Cloud Chamber of Commerce and (state Rep.) Fred Hawkins coming to celebrates this with us today,” said BankFlorida Market President Tom White.

He has spent many years working in the community back model, where all decisions are made at the local level, White said. At larger regional banks, decisions are made out of town, or state, which can take more time.

“They need to make a call to get a decision made,” White said. “They talk about being, ‘Your community bank,’ but they talk a big game. Their hierarchy is different.”

The BankFlorida Kissimmee location opened in May 2021, and has already grown to $115 million in loans and deposits.

“It’s been strong,” White said. “Now we’re going to bring the model to St. Cloud.

“In a community bank all of your decisions are made at the local level, which means faster service. And, being a community bank, we get to know our customers — if we don’t already know them.”

White said he’s looking for more local locations to open in the coming years.