Flagship Bank Announces New Community Association Banking Division to Address Evolving Market Challenges

CLEARWATER, Fla., Feb. 18, 2025 – Flagship Bank, a subsidiary of West Florida Bank Corporation, today announced it has released a comprehensive suite of purpose-built lending, deposit, and cash management services for community associations and the companies that manage them. The specialized services, offered by the bank’s newly formed Community Association Banking division, offer a local banking solution to address Tampa Bay area community associations’ need for a wider variety of financial tools, and the services build on Flagship Bank’s continuing mission to be Tampa Bay’s preeminent community bank.

“Florida condominium and homeowner’s associations are facing more demanding financial management situations as a result of legislation passed after the tragic building collapse in Surfside, Florida, and other developments,” said Larry Jones, director, Community Association Banking, Flagship Bank. “As one example, homeowner’s association fees in South Florida have risen over 60% over the last five years, according to a report from the real estate services company Redfin.”

“Our Community Association Banking services suite offers management companies and associations a one-stop resource with tools to address these new realities,” Jones said. “Unlike the many out-of-state banks competing for our local association deposits, we have branch offices close to all our clients and provide our services in a way consistent with our focus in being a community bank. This allows us to directly invest our assets back into the local economy in ways that benefit our association clients and the entire Tampa Bay area.”

Flagship Bank’s Community Association Banking services consist of three core components, including lending, deposit and cash management services. The lending services include financing for capital improvements, repairs, and large expenses, such as insurance. The deposit services offer accounts specifically for community associations. The cash management services provide a range of solutions, such as lockbox and business online banking, to streamline receivables and payables.

On the technology side, Flagship Bank’s services are built to provide financial data and document images to clients for use in their association management software platforms. These services allow a high level of automation for the finance and accounting functions at Flagship’s client organizations. A complete description of services is available at https://www.flagshipbank.com/communityassociationbanking.

“Our Community Association Banking services suite is one more way we bring the expertise and technology of a large bank to a community bank able to serve the direct needs of the Tampa Bay area that we remain deeply invested in,” said David Key, CEO and president, Flagship Bank. “We have a seasoned leadership team that has played a key role in adapting some of the banking industry’s latest community association services, and we also have a dedicated team that will be directly managing our Community Association Banking services from our Clearwater office. We’ve been privileged to provide this type of localized service through six branch offices that not only deliver the latest technologies for easy and secure banking, but that also offer customers a more inviting environment for face-to-face interactions and in-person services than many other banks do.”

The launch of the Community Association Banking division builds on a successful period of growth for Flagship Bank. In 2024, the bank named a new senior executive, David Key, to the position of CEO and president; in 2023, Flagship Bank opened a new Tarpon Springs branch; and, in 2022, the bank opened a West Pasco County branch office. Since its opening, in 2019, the bank has grown from two branch offices, in Clearwater and Oldsmar, to six branch locations, including in St. Petersburg, Largo, West Pasco, and Tarpon Springs, and has increased its assets from $130 million to over $650 million.

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