Gulf Coast banking consolidates

Four Gulf Coast banks were acquired by larger and more financially sound competitors over the past quarter, reducing the number of institutions on Bauer Financial's list of banks with “considerable challenges” in Southwest Florida.

Last June, Bauer, an independent bank-rating agency, gave 15 Gulf Coast banks a zero- or one-star rating. Now, in its most recent ratings updated, Bauer identified just 11 institutions with such low ratings.

All four of the banks no longer on Bauer's troubled list — Southshore Community Bank, First Commercial Bank of Tampa Bay, First Community Bank of America, and LandMark Bank of Florida — were acquired by competitors over the past several months.