Free to thrive: Bank relishes its one-of-a-kind status

The only locally owned community bank in St. Petersburg has to get creative to grab market share. 'There has to be a reason for someone to change,' says the CEO.

Mark Wemple. CEO Cathy Swanson has led St. Petersburg-based Freedom Bank during a flurry of M&A activity within Florida’s community banking sector.
Mark Wemple. CEO Cathy Swanson has led St. Petersburg-based Freedom Bank during a flurry of M&A activity within Florida’s community banking sector.
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One by one, St. Petersburg-based Freedom Bank has seen its rival community banks fall by the wayside, swallowed up by larger regional institutions like Bank of the Ozarks, which acquired C1 Bank, and Valley National Bank, which bought USAmeriBank.

 

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