Market's potential not lost on bankers

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 22, 2001

Just three years ago Union Planters Bank came to the bay area, saying it wanted its share of this growing market.

But just last week the Memphis, Tenn.-based bank sold its seven local branches (including one each in Port Richey and Elfers) to Colonial BancGroup.

The reason? "We did not view (the market) as giving us a great opportunity for growth," said Tom Woodbery, a Union Planters spokesman.

So what changed in three years? The market's still growing, but apparently Union Planters' chances at succeeding here weren't. Its competitors had swelled in size and number while Union Planters' market share of deposits had remained at just 1.5 percent.

"Long term, we were just not going to be a viable player in the market because of competition," Woodbery said. "We just didn't have the critical mass to compete effectively with other financial institutions."

Rather, Union Planters will focus on Dade and Broward counties, where it has more presence.

(Incidentally, Union Planters entered the bay area just a few months after Huntington Bancshares bought six of Barnett's 18 Pasco branches. Just last month, Huntington sold its branches, including six in Pasco to SunTrust Banks.)

So what will Colonial do that Union Planters couldn't?

Officials of Colonial, which is based in Montgomery, Ala., say their bank will distinguish itself because it's run through regional divisions that provide local lending authority. Colonial already had 10 branches in the bay area, and in June bought four branches from Manufacturers Bank of Tampa.

"If you need a $10-million loan, there's going to be someone in Tampa to deal with it. With another bank, they may be sitting out of state," said Lisa Free, vice president of investor relations for Colonial. "Ours is local. There's someone in the community that you know and knows what's going on."

That's the same campaign that the area's many community banks also tout. So we'll see, if Colonial doesn't make any money in Pasco, at least the signmakers will.

Speaking of changing faces, there's a new head honcho for Bank of America's local operations.

Donald L. Bickel has been named president of the Suncoast Region for the bank, which includes 28 branches and 300 employees in Pasco, Hernando, Citrus and Dixie counties. He'll coordinate all community relations, sales, service and civic activities for the 28 branches the Charlotte-based bank has in the area.

Bickel, 34, replaces Stephen Parks, who had that position for just 18 months before being promoted to region executive for Orange County. Bickel has been with Bank of America since 1993, in various positions, and most recently as consumer support manager for the bank in the Carolinas. He'll be based in New Port Richey.

After two years of transition and turmoil since Bank of America merged with NationsBank shortly after NationsBank bought Barnett, Bickel says he's relieved the only change coming up is on his nameplate.

BankAmerica has 17 branches, $1-billion in assets and 31 percent share in Pasco, according to the most recent reports from the Florida Bankers Association.

Now that the big merger is a thing of the past, error-free and efficient is the working mantra, Bickel says.

"We had all the challenges two years ago, when the merger happened; now we're growing beyond that, getting high customer satisfaction ratings, and want to continue that," he added.

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