Michigan credit union to acquire Sarasota community bank

DFCU Financial, a credit union based in Dearborn, Michigan, plans to acquire Gulfside Bank in Sarasota, in a move it says is part of its long-term growth strategy in Florida. Financial terms of the proposed acquisition were not disclosed.

Gulfside Bank, billed as Sarasota’s only locally owned community bank, provides retail, commercial and private banking services. It had total assets of about $345 million, loans of $256 million and deposits of $294 million as of June 30, according to a statement. It was chartered in 2018.

“This partnership represents an exciting next chapter for our organization, our clients and the communities we serve,” Gulfside Bank President and CEO Dennis Murphy says in a statement. “We believe this combination will enhance the value we deliver to our clients, expand the resources and solutions available to them and position the combined organization for continued success in the years ahead.” 

Gulfside Bank has two locations, one at 333 N. Orange Ave. in downtown Sarasota and another at 2870 Height St. in Fruitville East. The credit union has named Murphy the Sarasota/Manatee area president as part of the proposed acquisition, and he will retain leadership of the former Gulfside operations. Both Sarasota branches will be rebranded under the DFCU Financial name in the second half of 2027, according to the statement.

“By joining forces with a larger financial institution that shares our commitment to relationship-driven community banking, we are creating new opportunities for growth,” Murphy says in the statement.

Established in 1950, DFCU Financial provides business and personal banking, loan products and wealth management solutions for its more than 242,000 members and has over $8 billion in assets, according to a statement. In addition to 30 full-service branches in metro Detroit, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids and Lansing, Michigan, the credit union has nine full-service branches in Florida; five branches in the Tampa Bay area, two in the Orlando area, one in Naples and another in Fort Myers.

“This acquisition represents an important milestone in our long-term growth strategy,” CEO and President of DFCU Financial Ryan Goldberg says in the statement.

The transaction would mark the fourth for DFCU Financial in Florida since 2023 and would enable it to fill a targeted market between its existing Gulf Coast branches in the Tampa/St. Petersburg and Naples/Fort Myers areas, the statement says. In January 2023, the credit union closed on a $94 million deal to buy Tampa-based First Citrus Bank, which had $689 million in assets. In June 2024, it closed on a $160 million deal to buy MidWestOne Bank’s Florida operations in the Naples-Marco Island MSA and the Cape Coral-Fort Myers MSA.

Acquiring Gulfside Bank also provides an entry point into the fifth-largest MSA in the state — North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota — and provide DFCU Financial with branches in four of the top seven MSAs in Florida, the statement says.

The board of directors for DFCU Financial and Gulfside Bank unanimously approved the proposed acquisition. The deal is also subject to regulatory approval.

In the transaction, Gulfside Bank is being advised by Illinois-based investment banking firm Hovde Group and Orlando law firm Smith Mackinnon, PA. DFCU Financial is being advised by Memphis-based investment banking firm FHN Financial and Detroit law firm Honigman LLP.