Cream Rising

Some Gulf Coast bankers, even ones that run banks launched before the bust, are doing the once unthinkable: They are talking about growth.

“Our bank is starting to grow,” Florida Gulf Bank President and Chief Executive Bill Valenti says of the Fort Myers-based institution. “We are sensing that there will be some opportunities out there.”

Several other Gulf Coast-based community banks have reported upticks in deposits, assets and even in an area recently left for dead: loans.