MIDFLORIDA credit union has announced its intent to merge with Community Bank & Trust of Florida and acquire the Florida assets of First American Bank of Iowa. When finalized, the combined entity will boast $4 billion in assets, $3 billion in loans, 1,100 employees and 63 full-service branches.
The merger of MIDFLORIDA and Community Bank & Trust will be the largest credit union/bank merger to date. In addition to Community Bank & Trust’s more than $730 million in assets, the bank also manages more than $300 million in trust assets. MIDFLORIDA will be establishing a trust company to manage and geographically expand this service.
“In many communities, credit unions are becoming the primary source for consumer and small-business banking,” stated Kevin Jones, CEO of MIDFLORIDA. “We hope to strategically acquire additional financial institutions in Florida to expand our affordable consumer and business services. Our goal is for MIDFLORIDA to become the most convenient credit union in Central Florida.”
Community Bank & Trust, as well as First American Bank, were selected as partners because each institution shares the same strong service culture and commitment to customer needs as MIDFLORIDA.
“Merging with MIDFLORIDA just makes sense,” said Hugh Dailey, President and CEO of Community Bank & Trust. “Becoming part of MIDFLORIDA allows us to maintain the parts of our business that are most important to us – a focus on the customer’s needs, an emphasis on community and the ability to make quick, local decisions. We’ll maintain the same local bank philosophy that has made us so successful for the last 20 years.”
Dailey will join MIDFLORIDA as the market president for North Florida.
MIDFLORIDA will retain all of the branches and branch staff of both banks.
Community Bank & Trust has a strong deposit base of over $660 million in Ocala, Gainesville and The Villages, while First American Bank’s emphasis has been in both commercial and residential mortgage lending in the Naples and Cape Coral markets.
