Sabal Palm in Florida Sells Stock, Taps CEO

Sabal Palm Bank in Sarasota, Fla., has tapped a local banker to become its leader after completing a community stock offering.

The $83 million-asset bank raised $5.6 million in the offering. Sabal Palm also said Tuesday that Neil McCurry is its new chief executive. McCurry, who also joined the bank's board, had been in charge of the capital raise.

McCurry succeeds Brian Hall, who will remain the bank's president. Rick Halloran is also joining the bank as senior lending officer.

Sabal Palm plans to use the new capital to market itself in the community and expand its lending.

"The idea is to really get out there and market the bank to businesses and entrepreneurs in the area," McCurry says. "It's a great story for us, and it shows that community banks, which have struggled so much to raise capital since the recession, can still raise money through community offerings."

Sabal Palm did not pay an investment advisor to assist in the stock offering, and no investor owns more than 5% of the bank's shares.

McCurry has spent his whole career in the Sarasota market. He founded People's Community Bank in 1998, which was sold to Superior Bank in Birmingham, Ala. He had worked as a consultant since the sale, joining Sabal Palm in early February.