New Tampa and Wesley Chapel consumers who like to support their neighborhood businesses by shopping locally can also bank locally at Central Bank, located on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., just south of County Line Rd.
According to President and Chief Executive Officer John Thompson, there’s a big difference between a community bank and a branch office of one of the national financial institutions.
“The policy of a community bank is set by the management in that community,” Thompson says. “The community banks are much closer to what’s going on in their communities than larger banks.”
When Central Bank’s founders were going through the planning and regulatory process to open their bank 10 years ago, the area’s economy was moving along steadily towards a prosperous future as people moved into new homes, followed by businesses to serve them.
According to Vice Chairman of the Board Nilesh Patel, the Central Bank team of financial entrepreneurs saw a need they could fulfill. The New Tampa location is Central Bank’s only full-service facility, although there is a plan to open a loan processing office in Dade City in August.
“In 2005 and 2006, Florida had tremendous growth,” Patel says. “New Tampa was chosen (as our headquarters) because there were not that many banks.”
But, there was a lot of construction under way and more being planned as the area on both sides of the Hillsborough and Pasco county lines continued to add shopping plazas and housing tracts.
Central Bank opened the doors to its standalone headquarters building on the south side of the county line in February 2007.
“Just in time to experience the economic chaos (of 2008-09),” says Thompson.
While the recession that started in 2008 rocked many banks, Central Bank stayed on its course.
“Our Board oversight has been on maintaining a well-capitalized institution,” says Thompson. “We weathered the storm very well.”
Solid finances at its founding and prudent management during the challenging years that followed allowed Central Bank to go against the tide and position itself as not many other community banks could during the recession. “When the recession set in, it caused a lot of banks to get out of mortgage lending (nationally),” Thompson says. “We got into it.”
When the local economy showed some signs of recovery, the economic engine driving growth in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel kicked into gear again.
The projected growth envisioned for Wesley Chapel that had been on hold is now under way. The Shops at Wiregrass mall found its commercial footing and is now poised for expansion; the Wiregrass Ranch Development of Regional Impact (DRI) is setting the stage for major development in the area around S.R. 56; the Tampa Premium Outlets has opened, and major projects like the Florida Hospital Center Ice complex are nearing completion.
“If you look at the growth all around S.R. 56, residential construction has picked back up,” Thompson says, adding that part of Central Bank’s business model of commitment to the local community and making decisions based on that is giving greater consideration to mortgage applications from people whose personal finances may have taken a bit of a hit during the recession.
“You had a lot of good people affected by circumstances beyond their control,” Thompson says. “They’ve gotten good employment again but have some blemishes. We view those people as acceptable risks.”
Patel notes that factors like the current price of housing and growth in land values help ensure that the numbers add up for the bank and make it possible to be a good neighbor as well.
“The prices are right, the interest rates are right and the values are going up,” Patel says. “We being community members, we try to find a place for them.”
High customer service standards also are part of the deal, Thompson adds. “We try to give a quick turnaround.”
The Bank For Your Business?
Many small, independent businesses occupy a lot of the storefronts in the shopping plazas of New Tampa and Wesley Chapel, and Central Bank is available to serve them in the same neighborly way it does individual consumers.
One of the small business owners Central Bank has earned as a customer is Beverly Zichy. Her Wesley Chapel company, Proforma C & B Elite, provides brand management and marketing solutions. She’s been in business for 10 years and has been with Central Bank from the beginning.
“I’ve enjoyed a great relationship there,” Zichy says. “All the employees are friendly and know me by name. I can’t say that about any other bank I’ve used in the past.”
For consumers looking for a place to conduct routine personal banking business, Central Bank – which has current assets totaling $121-million, about twice what it started with — offers a variety of services, such as savings, checking, IRA and CD accounts (including a new Advantage Plus CD, which affords greater flexibility on deposits and rates of return).
Central Bank uses the Presto network of ATM machines, which means customers can withdraw money from any Publix store ATM without paying a fee.
The bank’s website (CentralBankFL.com) offers a variety of financial tools ranging from a simple calculator to switch kits that facilitate changing from another bank to Central Bank. Loan inquiries also can be initiated from the website. Other online services available to personal and business customers include online bill paying and access to statements, fund transfers and more.
A free Central Bank app also is available for both Apple and Android devices.
According to Thompson, providing online services offers great potential to meet the needs of customers efficiently. “We are in the process of expanding our online account handling,” he says. “We believe technology is the best way to expand.”
Central Bank is a small business itself, dealing with many of the same opportunities and challenges as many of the businesses it serves. The bank has 23 employees who handle everything from handling deposits at a teller window to overseeing cyber security and compliance with industry regulations.
And, like other New Tampa- and Wesley Chapel-area businesses, Central Bank is involved in community activities, with employees participating in projects like Paint your Heart Out Tampa (which has painted over 2,600 homes of low-income, elderly citizens the past 26 years), the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, DARE to Rescue (which rescues and rehabilitates Dachshunds) and Habitat for Humanity, which builds homes for the needy.
Financial education is another area of community involvement for Central Bank.
“We have employees who go into the schools and teach (kids) about banking,” says Patel, who is a resident of Live Oak Preserve and is serving as the chair for the sponsorship committee of the 29th Annual India Festival, which will be held in November at the Florida State Fairgrounds.
In fact, because many of the bank’s board of directors and founding members have strong family relationships with India, the bank is called Central Bank – the name of one of the oldest banks in India.
Whether it’s serving the banking needs of consumers and businesses of New Tampa and Wesley Chapel, or donating time and energy to worthy causes, Central Bank is staking its future on exemplifying what it means to be a community bank and a good neighbor, according to Thompson, who is active in the Rotary Club of New Tampa, which meets for breakfast every Friday at 7 a.m. at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club.
“We want to be a good community citizen and have a reputation for honesty and integrity to the public,” he says.
You can learn more about Central Bank by checking out their ad on page 27, calling 929-4477, dropping by for a visit at 20701 Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd, or by visiting CentralBankFL.com.
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