Profitable bank's stock now for sale

Profits and banking aren't synonymous on the Gulf Coast. Only 12 of the 69 banks headquartered in the region from Tampa to Naples made money last year.

Sanibel Captiva Community Bank belongs to that exclusive group, posting a $122,000 profit last year on assets of $237 million. The bank has been profitable each year since it opened in 2003.

Holding company Southwest Florida Community Bancorp hopes that distinction will give it an edge to sell the remaining 38% of the stock it holds in the island bank. “It's a whole lot easier to sell the stock of a profitable bank,” says David Hall, president and chief operating officer of the Fort Myers-based holding company.

At $13.80 per share, the holding company plans to raise $7.5 million so it can boost capital at its other subsidiary bank, First Community Bank of Southwest Florida in Fort Myers.

That bank suffered a net loss of $11.5 million last year and is considered “adequately capitalized.” The extra capital will help it meet the definition of “well capitalized,” Hall says.

Hall says there is no timetable to complete the offering, though he says the Sanibel bank raised $2 million last year from island-based investors. The stock offering represents a discount to book value, which the bank says was $15.84 per share as of Dec. 31. Sanibel and sister island Captiva are linked by bridge to Fort Myers and Lee County.