Florida first

First Florida Integrity Bank recently joined an exclusive club on the Gulf Coast: banks with at least $1 billion in assets.

In fact, Naples-based First Florida Integrity is the only bank south of the Tampa-St. Petersburg area to reach that level. Others include Raymond James Bank in St. Petersburg, USAmeribank in Largo, C1 Bank in St. Petersburg and Bank of Tampa.

But First Florida Integrity isn't done growing yet, says Gary Tice, its chairman and CEO. “We want to get to $2 billion to $3 billion, but we'll never get there if we don't acquire banks,” he says.