First Bank to Unload 11 Branches in Florida

It's take two for First Bank in Creve Coeur, Mo., in trying to trim its branch network in Florida.

The bank has agreed to sell eight of its 19 branches in Florida to the $521 million-asset HomeBanc in Lake Mary, Fla., First Bank said Thursday. It will also close another three branches, two in Hillsborough County and one in Pasco County.

The eight branches, in Pinellas County, have roughly $130 million in deposits, HomeBancorp, the parent of HomeBanc said.

"We believe we can be most effective in better serving our customers by focusing our efforts and resources toward building our presence in the Bradenton, Palmetto and Longboat Key markets," Terrance M. McCarthy, president and chief executive of First Bank, said in a news release.

First Bank, a unit of the $6.5 billion-asset First Banks in Clayton, Mo., previously called off its plan to sell its Florida branch network to an unnamed bank after the buyer failed to meet certain conditions. First Banks entered Florida in 2007 when it acquired the troubled Coast Financial in Bradenton. The company has struggled during the economic downturn but returned to profitability this year with three straight quarters of earnings.

First Bank will continue to operate its remaining eight branches in Manatee County; they have roughly $160 million in deposits. The transactions are expected to be completed in the second quarter.

First Banks currently has 146 branches in California, Florida, Illinois and Missouri.

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