Banking

By Clay W. Cone, business writer

The financial services industry in Collier County has exploded from a traditional small town banking base to one involving dozens of national and international players. These financial institutions currently boast more than $3.13 billion in consumer deposits.

"Today, we have a town that probably has more banking, trust and investment management services offices per capita than any other town in Florida," David A. Highmark, president of Northern Trust Bank/Naples. "You always hear someone saying how there's a banking office on every street corner. In many cases, there are three or four offices on a street corner."

The first bank in Collier County opened in July 1923 in what was then the county seat - Everglades City. The Bank of Everglades, as it was known, was formed by Barron Gift Collier Sr., the founder and namesake of Collier County, to serve residents and small businesses in the tiny fishing hamlet.

After Hurricane Donna devastated Everglades City in 1960 and the county seat was moved to Naples, the Collier family looked into the feasibility of relocating the bank. By that time, another bank was in operation in Naples. So the decision was made to move the bank to Immokalee, a small farming community that was beginning to take root in northeastern Collier County.

The bank became locally owned in 1965 when William G. Price and a group of shareholders banded together to make a successful bid to acquire it. Price had been hired away from another bank in Fort Myers to serve as president and chief executive officer a couple of years before. Once the buyout was completed, the bank's name officially changed to First Bank of Immokalee.

Today, the bank has assets of $53 million and employes 35 people. Over the years, the bank's focus has remained the same, said Stephen L. Price, who took over as president and chief executive officer from his father in 1989.

"Our primary thing that keeps us going is finding ways to tailor-make loans that most other banks wouldn't give the time of day to," Price said.

That means doing away with most applications; making personal loans of as little as $50; and judging one's character as a basis for granting loans.

That was the same principle behind the first bank in Naples. The Bank of Naples opened on Valentine's Day in 1949. It was formed by a group of local businessmen led by W. Roy Smith, president, and Clarence Tooke, head cashier and executive vice president. Later, when Clarence Tooke became seriously ill and incapacitated, his wife, Mamie B. Tooke, took over the operations of the bank.

Mamie Tooke earned a reputation for serving on almost every committee and fund-raising project in the community. And while she was the chief executive of the only bank in town, she kept her desk in the main lobby of the bank.

The Bank of Naples proceeded to grow and prosper over the years right along with the community. In 1975, the bank merged into Barnett Banks Inc.

Mamie Tooke continued as president until 1979, when she became chairman of the board and chief executive officer. She passed away in 1992. Today, her mark remains with the bank, as evidenced by a personal parking space dedicated to Tooke that still remains right next to the rear door of the bank's Fifth Avenue South office.

The community's first savings and loan association, Naples Federal Savings and Loan Association, opened for business in August 1953 with just $100,000 in capital and a small office located at the corner of Fifth Avenue South and Park Street. The thrift's main objective was to provide for the financing of homes, said Benjamin Parks, a founding organizer in Naples Federal.

"What we needed was mortgage money," Parks recalled.

Through the years, the thrift experienced tremendous growth, mirroring the explosive development of the entire Southwest Florida region. In 1983, Naples Federal posted record earnings of $6.2 million and was one of 15 companies nominated by the Miami Herald as "Florida Company of the Year."

To further its growth plan, the company went public in 1980, and later converted to a savings bank charter and changed its name to BancFlorida Financial Corp. The thrift eventually grew to more than $1.7 billion in total assets before it was bought out by First Union Corp. of Charlotte, N.C.

Today, Collier County is served by more than 40 different financial institutions offering a range of banking and investment management services. Most of these institutions are run by companies based outside of the region.

The dramatic transformation of the local banking scene began with the gradual easing of government restrictions in the early to mid-1980s.

The barriers first began to fall in 1980 with the enactment of legislation permitting branching through mergers within the county in whcih the parent bank is located. Cross-country mergers, conversions and acquisitions were allowed under statewide branching legislation approved in 1982.

The barriers fell even further in July 1985 when Florida joined the Southeastern States Regional Compact. That pact enabled banks in 12 states and the District of Columbia to buy banks in Florida. It also prohibited the entry of financial institutions from outside the southeastern region.

In 1994, full interstate banking was approved, making it easier for banks to operate branches across all state lines.

But almost as quickly as the local banks disappear, a whole new collection of small locally run banks are maneuvering to open in the area. Organizers say their motive is simple: to try and fill the personal service niche that is often considered too costly and is overlooked by the larger institutions.

Observers say the activity follows a normal pattern, particularly in Collier County, which has seen its share of new bank start-ups over the years.

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