With merger, long-independent bank welcomes fintech shift

First National Bank of Pasco, a Dade City-based community bank with $276 million in assets that specializes in commercial loans and financial services, has been around since 1986. Thirty-six years might not seem that long at first glance, but when one considers the rapid pace of consolidation in Florida’s hyper-competitive banking industry, that’s quite a feat of longevity.

However, FNB of Pasco’s resistance to merger and acquisition opportunities finally ended earlier this year when its parent holding company, Florida Bancshares, agreed to sell a majority of its outstanding stock, somewhere between 65% and 85%, to Aiden Florida Bancshares Inc., a company based in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, about 50 miles southeast of Los Angeles. Tech entrepreneur Fadi Cheikha, who also owns US Alliance Group, a fintech company that specializes in payment processing services, owns Aiden.