Fidelity buys Bradenton, Manatee bank branches for $3.6M

Fidelity buys Bradenton, Manatee bank branches for $3.6M

MANATEE -- Five former First Bank branches throughout Manatee County have been sold to Atlanta-based Fidelity Bank for $3.58 million.

Fidelity purchased the branches in five separate transactions Sept. 11, each of which was valued at $716,000, according to county property records. Branch locations coming under new ownership are at 995 Haben Blvd. in Palmetto, 415 53rd Ave. W. in South Bradenton, 9819 Cortez Road in Cortez, 3005 53rd Ave. E. near Oneco and 7051 Manatee Ave. W. in Bradenton.

The branches opened as Fidelity branches on Sept. 14. Former First Bank employees were retained to work at the new Fidelity branches, according to a Fidelity news release.

With the exception of the branch at 3005 53rd Ave. E., all the buildings acquired in the transaction were formerly branch offices of Coast Bank of Florida. First Bank acquired Coast Bank in a merger in 2007.

In May, the two banks inked a deal under which Fidelity Bank entered an agreement with First Bank to purchase about $154 million in customer deposits as well as $30 million in loans and other assets.

The assets include First Bank's Florida locations in Bradenton, Palmetto and Longboat Key. The merger was finalized on Sept. 14.

The brand switch was one of several to take place at Manatee bank branches this year. In July, Sunshine Bancorp of Plant City purchased three bank branches from First Federal Bank of Florida. Two of the branches are in Manatee County and one is in Sarasota County.

In May, Winston-Salem-based BB&T Bank started renovating a former First Priority Bank branch building at 921 Manatee Ave. W.

Fidelity Bank's local additions are now part of a banking company that does much of its business in Florida and Georgia. Fidelity Southern Corp., the holding company for Fidelity Bank and its other subsidiary, LionMark Insurance Co., provides banking, trust and wealth management services and credit-related insurance products in Florida and Georgia.

Missouri-based First Bank Inc., the holding company for First Bank, has locations in California, Florida, Missouri and Illinois.

Matt M. Johnson, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7027 or on Twitter@MattAtBradenton.

This story was originally published October 5, 2015 at 6:28 PM with the headline "Fidelity buys Bradenton, Manatee bank branches for $3.6M ."