One of Birmingham’s largest banks is expanding its presence in Florida once again.
The Alabama State Banking Department has approved a loan production office for ServisFirst Bancshares Inc. (Nasdaq: SFBS) at 1500 Freedom Self Storage Road, Suite 12 in Fort Walton Beach.
Steve Burks, who serves as senior vice president for ServisFirst in the Destin/Fort Walton Beach area, will head up the new LPO. According to his LinkedIn profile, he previously served as executive vice president of Coastal Bank and Trust for more than 13 years. He earned his accounting and finance degree from Florida State University.
As we've previously noted, Florida has been a popular market of late for Birmingham banks expanding their footprints, including banks like National Bank of Commerce.
Experts say the mortgage industry and growing economies in the state are among the factors drawing interest from the Magic City's bank scene.
ServisFirst, which has in excess of $7 billion in assets as of June 30, first expanded into the Florida market in 2011 with an office in Pensacola. It now has two offices in Pensacola and one in Tampa Bay.