Opportunity seeker

During the economic downturn, a small Minnesota bank quietly established a presence in Southwest Florida by buying two small banks in Fort Myers and Naples.

At the helm of Stillwater, Minn.-based Central Bank is Larry Albert, the CEO.

On a recent visit to Fort Myers and Naples, the banker says Central Bank's expansion to Florida was purely opportunistic. The bank's owner, John Morrison, is a Naples resident. “He'd always looked at opportunities down here,” Albert says. “It helps to diversify.”