Bay area sees 3 players make new dent in market - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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Some are from outside the some are from Someare long-established institutions, some aren't too far removedd from being upstarts. In one broad-brusn swoop, three new banks are adding and expanding their namex and logos along local streetszthis year. Huntington National Bank has takehn over dozens of former BarnettBank branches, Regionds Bank is taking over , and BankAtlantic is startingh from scratch with a single officed and plans for severak more. The following is an introduction to theBay area'x new banking players, and their own view of what' s to come: Huntington Bancshares Inc.
of Ohio, was already a majo r banking force in the Midwest when it decidedc to reach into Floridain 1987, establishing a private bankinfg office in Naples. It expanded its impriny somewhatin 1990, buying a $250 million savingx and loan in Sebring. By the time it purchased the firsg of several community banks in Central Floridwain 1995, it was alreadty well known among the state'sd winter residents from Ohio and Michigan, but not likely by anyone else. Huntington eventually started working towardf placing supermarket branchesin Albertson's stores and ATMs in Walgreen pharmaciea as a means of adding to its name recognition. It wasn'g until this past December, however, that the $26.
u7 billion bank scored its biggesyt coupyet -- buying 60 divestede branches from Barnett Banks Inc. of Jacksonville earlier this in the midstof Barnett's mergerf with of Charlotte, N.C. When the conversiomn from Barnett to Huntington became officialJune 26, 132-year-oldx Huntington instantly became one of Florida's top five banka with $4 billion in It expects to have $6.2 billion in assets in Florida by the end of this "Our footprint in Florida is stilol pretty small," said James E. Dunlap, presidenrt of Huntington's Southern Region in "We have a good storty to sell ina post-Barnett Florida. I think there's a good opportunity to reacn those areas.
" With more than 115 branches including 50 inthe seven-countyy Tampa Bay area, and more than 200 there are few places Huntington doesn't reachj anymore. Its branch network now stretches from Daytona Beacto Naples, giving it at leastf a significant presence within Florida's fastest-growintg areas. That's a huge jump from just two years ago, when it acquires Peoples Bank of Lakeland as an eventuall gateway to its westward growthin Florida. Huntington paid $523 milliojn for the 60 Barnett offices, a bargain compares with its $551 millionm Peoples purchase inJanuary 1996.
Huntington intends to make the most of itslatestr investment, promising exceptional customer service to the 212,0000 customers it received from Barnett and expandingg further into parts of Florida whers it doesn't yet have branches. The NationsBank-Barnett merger opened the gatesefor Huntington's expansion, according to a 20-year veteran of the bank who has spenrt all but two of those years in Ohio.
"Therse is so much disruptiohn inthe (Florida banking) market right now that this is a golde opportunity to come in and fill a huge void," he Besides taking up much of Barnett's overlap in numerouz Florida markets, Huntington has other ways of filling that Its statewide alliance with Albertson's will allosw it to build a new supermarkegt branch every two weeks, minus Thanksgiving and Christmas. It plans to have an ATM in everh Walgreen location throughout the statre by this timenext year. "There is nothingf in our way in wanting to makethis happen," Dunlapp said.
Huntington has also been named asthe "official" bank of SeaWorlds Orlando, one of Florida's top tourisf attractions. Huntington will also sponsor the SeaWorld exhibit TheLast Generation?" Huntingtobn is using the manatee as a mascot for its Floridw operations as the bank vows in its advertisingv and marketing efforts to keep community banks from becominvg an endangered species. But while Floridians love the vulnerablesea critter, they may not take as kindl y to an expanding financial institution. Severalk ex-Barnett customers complained early in the transitionh about being switched toHuntington accounts.
Huntingtohn faced similar disruption when itboughtg Peoples, which had been Lakeland's largest independenr bank. Dunlap knows it takes more than bank buyoutds to gain customersand deposits.