In The News

Collaboration between our deposit and lending teams is fueling low-cost deposit growth. The year over year period ending March 31, 2020, was the strongest core deposit growth period since 2004. More importantly, low-cost deposit growth was the highest in the company’s history. First-quarter profits were down 21% largely due to personnel additions on the business and retail banking roster.

For Debbie Thomas, owner of Cornerstone Furnished Solutions in Lutz, the prospects were not looking good. Like thousands of other business owners, Thomas was trying to obtain a Paycheck Protection Program loan to pay her 18 employees. But every time she heard from her bank, Wells Fargo, it was only to tell her that her…

Pressman, St. Petersburg’s Entrepreneur-In-Residence, and Leslie Bridges, senior vice president of business banking at First Citrus Bank, spoke with the St. Pete Catalyst about their perspectives on the $349 billion small business lending program that was included in the $2 trillion stimulus package designed to blunt the economic fallout from the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.

The additions to our lending team are beginning to create traction in the loan portfolio. The fourth quarter period ending December 31, 2019 was the strongest growth quarter of the year for loans with 83% higher growth than the prior year quarter. More importantly, the fourth quarter checking account growth was 270% higher than the prior year quarter. 2019 was another record earnings year with net income up 2% over the prior year.

First Citrus Bancorporation, Inc. (OTC Markets: FCIT), the parent bank holding company for First Citrus Bank, announced that its Board of Directors declared on January 16, 2020 a $0.40 special cash dividend per share for all holders of Common, Class A Preferred, and Class B Preferred stock.

Net income through the first nine months of 2019 was up at five of the six community banks headquartered in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area and with a presence in Pinellas County.

First Citrus Bancorporation Inc., the holding company for Tampa-based First Citrus Bank, set an earnings record over the first three quarters of 2019, with net income rising by 6% compared to the same period last year.

HYPR, the leading provider of True Passwordless Security, announced today the company has closed $18.3 Million in Series B financing led by Comcast Ventures, bringing the company’s total funding to more than $32 million.

The first three-quarter period ending September 30, 2019 was a record earnings period, with net income up 6% over the previous year period. Due to our increased personnel roster and expansion activities in the Pinellas County market, earnings dipped 15% compared to our record third quarter in 2018.

Legacy banks are struggling to transform their brick-and-mortar ecosystems to fit into an increasingly digital world. How do they do it? And more importantly, how do they do it without alienating customers who are accustom to one-on-one interactions?

Those were just a couple of questions addressed by Nika Stelman last week during a panel at the Bank Customer Experience Summit in Chicago.