Economic forecast: Bank seeks to capitalize on hot real estate market

Company: The past 12 months has been “transformational,” for the bank, says CEO John Corbett, and the massive shift began several weeks prior to the pandemic. A key date was Jan. 27, when the bank Corbett had been running, Winter Haven-based CenterState, announced plans to merge with Columbia, S.C.-based South State. The $6 billion deal built a Southeast banking power, now with $38 billion in assets and some 300 branches in six states. The company kept the South State name, mostly for branding and marketing purposes as a regional bank, Corbett says, and kept the headquarters in Polk County. The merger closed June 7.

Opportunities: The bank attacked the biggest pandemic opportunity — federal PPP loans — with vigor, handling more than 20,000 loans worth $2.4 billion. Corbett and many on the South State team, like dozens of fellow bankers across the region, worked nights and weekends to stay ahead of the deluge. “I remember taking a conference call on Easter Sunday at midnight,” Corbett recalls.