Florida Bank of Jacksonville, formerly known as Cygnet Private Bank, was acquired by Florida Bank Group (FBG). Through the combination, Florida Bank of Jacksonville will continue to operate its existing Ponte Vedra Beach office and move its headquarters to the downtown Jacksonville office at 135 W Bay Street, the former headquarters of the Bank of North Florida.
Additionally, the boards of directors and management of the two banks merged. Thomas Gibbs will serve as chairman and Stewart Baker will be the president and CEO. Mr Gibbs and Mr Baker held these positions with the Bank of North Florida. In addition, Edwin Stinson will become executive vice president and CFO. Florida Bank of Jacksonville will establish a new full-service office in Ponte Vedra Beach, in a newly renovated, free-standing building on A1A between Turner Butler Boulevard and Solana Road.
FBG has also announced the opening of Florida Bank of Sarasota in Sarasota. Veteran Florida banker Michael Worthington will serve as the president and CEO. Florida Bank of Sarasota opened its main office at 1432 First Street. It is also planning to start a new full-service office in 2008. FBG has also moved to strengthen its residential mortgage origination capability by attracting industry veteran Randy Freese to lead its residential mortgage efforts under the name Florida Bank Mortgage.
Corey Coughlin, president and CEO of FBG, said: We have combined two strong organizations into one bank that will be able to more effectively serve its customers in the greater Jacksonville market. In addition, this combination provided a perfect opportunity to enter a new market with a separately chartered bank, its own local board of directors and local management team.
