Bank that 'loves dirt' makes $75M in multifamily loans

A banker’s go-to line — ‘We are lending’ — has real muscle at Centennial Bank.

The Conway, Ark.-based bank, which has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to acquire Florida banks this decade, recently closed three large multifamily-focused loans in the Sarasota market. Two loans, one $20 million and one $30 million, are for joint ventures for luxury single-family rental home projects. One project is on Lido Key; the other Siesta Key. A third loan, $25 million, is for a condo project on Whitaker Bayou, just north of downtown Sarasota.