Falling margins

Part of the path to sustained growth at Clearwater-based USAmeriBank has its roots in a baseball field, and before that, a basketball court.

It stems from Mark Fernandez, former senior vice president with the Tampa Bay Rays. Fernandez, who also worked in marketing and sales for the Arizona Diamondbacks of the MLB and Phoenix Suns of the NBA, left the Rays in July after a 10-year stint. He's now an independent consultant for Tampa area businesses, with a focus on how community relations can help grow a customer base.

USAmeriBank, of the largest banks in assets in the region, hired Fernandez a few months ago. One of his tasks: Help the bank lure new customers who open deposit accounts, the cheapest kinds of funds for bank. More deposit accounts, in turn, can be a cushion against shrinking net interest margins — a challenge with which dozens of community banks are currently grappling.