In The News

The past three months have been a wild ride for the Gulf Coast economy, particularly the banks that feed it capital. In response to the pandemic, banks quickly adjusted their operations.

Though roughly $100 billion remains for Paycheck Protection Program loans, businesses aren’t rushing to apply as Congress continues to wrangle about more changes.

First Citrus Bancorporation, Inc. Named #1 Community Bank in Florida, and Top 100 in the Nation by American Banker

The Small Business Administration and the Treasury Department released a joint report on Paycheck Protection Program funding for the second round of the program, and Florida is once again one of the biggest beneficiaries.

After a rough start on Monday, the second round of the Paycheck Protection Program was running smoother on Tuesday. But with the application process ramping up, local lenders said they expect the $310 billion set aside for the second round to be exhausted in the next few days, possibly as soon as Wednesday.

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.