Quiet Giant

Crews Banking Corp. may be one the largest and best-managed banking companies on the Gulf Coast you've never heard of.

But with combined assets of nearly $1.2 billion, it would rank as the fourth-largest bank on the Gulf Coast, just ahead of St. Petersburg-based C1 Bank, the high-profile bank that's grown through a string of acquisitions. Including Crews Banking, only five Gulf Coast-based banks have more than $1 billion in assets.

Crews Banking is also one of the most profitable banks in the region based on any metric you choose: return on assets, return on equity or net income. In fact, Crews Banking has been profitable through the entire banking downturn, putting it in rare company among Florida community banks.