The Justice Network
Florida OFR, Office of Financial Regulation
The mission of the Florida Office of Financial Regulation is to protect the citizens of Florida by carrying out the banking, securities and financial laws of the state efficiently and effectively and to provide regulation of business that promotes the sound growth and development of Florida’s economy. Read more here
Linda B. Charity, OFR Interim Commissioner
Linda B. Charity, Interim Commissioner
Linda Charity began her career with the Office of Financial Regulation (formerly the Department of Banking and Finance) in 1979 as an entry-level bank examiner in West
Palm Beach. Linda moved from the field to the Tallahassee headquarters in 1983 to develop and implement an extensive examiner training program. In 1989, Linda was promoted to the Chief of the Bureau
of Research, Planning and Staff Development and in 2000 she assumed the position of Chief of the Bureau of Financial Institutions, District I. The former Department of Banking and Finance was
reorganized in 2003 and Linda was appointed the Director of the Division of Financial Institutions in February 2003. The Financial Services Commission appointed Linda Interim Commissioner of the
Office of Financial Regulation in 2009 and 2012.
Linda earned a Bachelors degree from the University of Florida and a Masters of Business Administration degree in Finance at Florida State University. Linda has attended
and taught at a number of state and federal regulatory schools, as well as numerous industry schools and seminars.
Tom Grady leaves Office of Financial Regulation
Tom GradyTom
Grady leaves Office of Financial Regulation, heads to Citizens' presidency
The Buzz, Staff of the Tampa Bay Times
March 7, 2012
The head of the Office of Financial Regulation, Tom Grady, stepped down from his position in order to take on what some say is Florida’s largest financial liability:
Citizens Property Insurance Corp.
Grady was named interim president of Citizens this week, but his letter to his staff at OFR indicates that he may be president permanently.
Grady’s letter indicates that he was asked by the Citizens board chairman Carlos Lacasa this week to head up the state-run insurer, after the departure of president
Scott Wallace. He said he made a spur-of-the-moment decision to take the gig. He starts Monday.
"I love working at the OFR," he wrote. "But I am eager to serve in a different capacity in another area of the financial services industry, one where stability and
rationality are necessary conditions to a sustained economic recovery." Read more here
Banking commissioner Tom Grady
pursued lawsuit against state for legal fees
The Miami Herald blog
by Katie Sanders
August 18, 2011
Before Tom Grady could take his new job as Florida's Office of Financial Regulation commissioner, his friend Gov. Rick Scott told him to drop his involvement with an
ongoing lawsuit he filed against the State Board of Administration.
Scott, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Attorney General Pam Bondi are trustees of the SBA, which manages the state pension fund.
"He couldn’t be suing the state and take this job," Scott said. "I didn’t want that to happen." Grady, a wealthy securities attorney
and one-time state representative, and Tampa attorney Guy Burns sued the state in March 2010, five years after SBA leaders refused to pay them $1.4 million in legal fees stemming from an unsuccessful
lawsuit against Alliance Capital Management. Read more here
J. Thomas CardwellFormer OFR Commissioner J. Thomas Cardwell: Since January 2009, 44 financial institutions have failed: 14 in 2009, 29 in 2010 and one already in 2011. Florida is in the top five states nationally in the number of mortgage foreclosures. Home sales remain sluggish and prices for existing homes are flat. Like many families and businesses in Florida, OFR was significantly impacted by the real estate market. Read the report in PDF.
December 31, 2010
OFR December2010.pdf
Adobe Acrobat document [159.8 KB]
September 21, 2010
J. THOMAS CARDWELL Financial Crisis Inqu[...]
Adobe Acrobat document [18.3 KB]
Understanding OFR: A Guide To Florida’s Office Of Financial Regulation
Understanding OFR: A Guide To Florida’s Office Of Financial Regulation
The Florida Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) provides regulatory oversight for Florida’s financial service providers. OFR was created in 2003 as the result of
cabinet reorganization legislation passed in 2002. Although relatively new, OFR’s beginnings as a banking, finance and securities regulator date back to the mid-1800s, with the creation of the former
Comptroller’s office.
OFR is self-supporting in that none of its operating revenues come from the state’s general tax funds. Instead, they are paid by the organizations and individuals it
regulates. OFR has approximately 460 employees with an annual operating budget of $40 million.
OFR is organized into five areas: Financial Institutions, Finance, Securities, Investigations and Executive Direction. The programs oversee and regulate a wide range of
financial enterprises and individuals, such as banks, credit unions, mortgage loan originators, securities industry participants, consumer finance companies, money transmitters, foreign currency
exchangers and payday lenders. Read more here
Understanding OFR, A Guide To Florida’[...]
Adobe Acrobat document [361.5 KB]
How to Find a Notice of Filing by OFR
The Notice of Filings from the Department of Financial Services are published in the Miscellaneous Section of the Florida Administrative Weekly. You can search for these notices on the FAW website at www.flrules.org Go to "Advanced Search"
Select "Search in Florida Administrative Weekly"; Department of Financial Services" and "Miscellaneous" under Section and click "search"
Advanced Search
1. What do you want to search? Search in the Florida Administrative Weekly
2. Select your search options: Department Name, "69: Department of Financial Services" and "Miscellaneous" under Section
3. Click on the Search button. From the listing that you get with this search, you will want to look at the ones that are "69U Financial Institutions"
Data available from January 1st, 2006. By default, the search will be within the 12 last months.
Public Records: It is the policy of the State of Florida that all state, county, and municipal records are open for personal inspection and copying by any person.
Chapter 119, Florida Statutes, Public Records, Online Sunshine
Example of a public hearing. Section 120.80(3), Florida Statutes, pertains to public hearings and OFR. Section 658.28, Florida Statutes, governs the acquisition of control of a bank or trust company. Chapter 69U-105, Florida Administrative Code, contains the procedural rules for processing an acquisition application.
Florida Statutes and Rules Administered by the OFR
Rule 69U-105.101 et seq., Florida Administrative Code
Chapter 120, Administrative Procedures Act
Banks and Banking, Title 38, Chapters 655-667, Florida Statutes
Some public hearings are conducted by the OFR by video teleconference at the offices
of For The Record Reporting, Inc., 1500 Mahan Drive, Suite 140, Tallahassee, Florida, with a location elsewhere in the state. Other
times OFR will hold the public hearing in person, in a courtroom, such as the Manatee County Judicial Center, 1051 Manatee Avenue West, Bradenton, Florida. In that case OFR will send its representative(s) to that location.
In accordance with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, any person requiring special accommodations to participate
in a hearing is asked to advise the agency at least five days before the hearing by contacting the Agency Clerk, Mary Howell, at (850) 410-9896, by facsimile at (850) 410-9663, or by mail or in
person at the Office of Financial Regulation, Fletcher Building, Suite 118, 200 East Gaines Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399.
Some folks report that OFR did not transcribe their hearing, and other irregularities in other kinds of hearings. You may want to inquire in advance if you are permitted to bring your own videographer or court reporter to make a record of your hearing.
In my experience a good videographer can capture the essence a contentious hearing better than a court reporter. Sometimes both are needed. Video taping may record
more than what the court reporter can, such as off-the-record comments, attorneys yelling, that kind of thing.
You may be able to use your own video camera on a tripod, or have a friend or family
member record the hearing. You may also be able to record the audio portion of the hearing with a digital sound recorder.
Check with OFR beforehand.
Without a record of a hearing, you may loose valuable rights if the parties cannot agree on
what transpired during the hearing. The old adage, an oral agreement is not worth the paper it’s written on, may apply.
Gov. Scott: Share OFR Concerns with Florida Cabinet
Gov. Rick ScottIn a letter dated February 22, 2011 Florida Gov. Rick Scott thanked Neil Gillespie for contacting the Governor's office about changes to the Office of Financial Regulation. (ORF). Gov. Scott suggested I share my concerns with the Florida Cabinet about my recent experience with the Office of Financial Regulation (OFR). In a word, it was awful. Read my April 30, 2011 letter to the Florida Cabinet, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, in the PDF below.
April 30, 2011
Neil Gillespie letter to Florida Cabinet[...]
Adobe Acrobat document [311.8 KB]
Commissioner Putnam: Politics Should Have No Role Determining Future of Financial Institution
Florida Cabinet Member Adam H. Putnam, Commissioner, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, responded to Neil Gillespie by letter of May 17, 2011. Commissioner Putnam agrees that politics have no role in determining the future of a financial institution and believes that consistent regulation of our state's financial institutions will provide for the growth and stability of sound community banks and thrifts. Please know that it remains of paramount importance to the Commissioner that Florida's financial institutions receive fair and equal treatment among regulators - whether State or Federal. Read Commissioner Putnam’s letter below in PDF.
May 17, 2011
2011, 05-17-11, reply from Adam Putnam, [...]
Adobe Acrobat document [71.5 KB]
Attorney General Pam Bondi Responds, Complaint Forwarded to Legal Staff For Review
Florida AG Pam BondiAttorney General Pam Bondi received Neil Gillespie’s correspondence regarding his experiences with the Florida Office of Financial Regulation (OFR). Attorney General Bondi responded, and through Brandon Brooks expressed sorry for his difficulties, and forwarded his complaint to the Attorney General's legal staff for further review. Gillespie may also contact the OFR Inspector General. As the OFR is an agency under the direct authority of the Governor's Office, he may also wish to contact the Chief Inspector General for the State of Florida. Read the letter from Attorney General Pam Bondi below in PDF.
May 24, 2011
2011, 05-24-11, reply from Pam Bondi FL [...]
Adobe Acrobat document [108.5 KB]
Cornerstone Community Bank squares off against FDIC
Cornerstone Community Bank squares
off against FDIC
Tampa Bay Business Journal
by Margie Manning
September 2, 2011
Cornerstone Community Bank has joined a small but growing group of banks that refuse to agree to a directive from regulators.
Cornerstone objected to some of the language in a consent order proposed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and declined to sign the order, prompting the FDIC to
file a notice of charges. The notice, made public on Aug. 26, accused Cornerstone of "unsafe and unsound banking practices," an allegation Cornerstone will have an opportunity to answer at a hearing
that could be held early in 2012.
Cornerstone is the second Tampa Bay area bank, and at least the 16th community bank nationally, to fight an FDIC consent order, or a document in which a bank agrees to
change some of its practices without admitting any wrongdoing. Freedom Bank of America took the same stance. Attorney George Igler, who represents both financial institutions, expects more banks to
follow suit.
Hundreds of banks have agreed to sign regulatory orders, including 29 institutions headquartered 29 Tampa Bay area, since 2007, most recently The Palm Bank in
Tampa.
The specific orders vary, but they generally require banks to boost capital, or equity in the bank, and to rid their books of troubled loans. The orders often impose
restrictions on lending, impacting banks’ ability to extend credit to small-to-mid-sized business customers and to help them grow.
There’s a mixed track record for local banks that receive regulatory orders.
Sixteen of the 29 local banks that signed orders have failed. Four have been acquired by other banks or agreed to a deal.
Just one bank, Community Bank & Co., headquartered in Lakewood Ranch, had an order lifted, after investors injected millions of dollars of new capital into the bank.
Read more here
According to the above story in the
Tampa Bay Business Journal, Attorney George Igler represents Cornerstone Community Bank and Freedom Bank of America against the FDIC.
A. George Igler is a shareholder in
the firm Igler & Dougherty, P.A. He has served as corporate counsel to a number of financial institutions, assisting management and boards of directors in creating both short and long-term
corporate and business strategies.
Igler & Dougherty, P.A. represents banks, thrifts, and
their holding companies, broker-dealers, insurance companies and other financial services providers, as well as other business entities, who require high quality, innovative solutions and guidance in
legal matters.
Community Bank & Co. backs out of buying Old Harbor
Lakewood Ranch bank backs out of buying Clearwater institution
Herald-Tribune
by John Hielscher
September 19, 2011
LAKEWOOD RANCH - Community Bank & Co. has scrapped plans to buy the ailing Old Harbor Bank of Clearwater.
The $25 million deal, expected to close this month, quietly fell through last month even after Florida's primary banking regulator fast-tracked its approval to avoid Old
Harbor's failure.
Old Harbor is a critically undercapitalized, $219 million-asset bank that operates seven offices in Pinellas and Pasco counties.
It lost $8.1 million through mid-year and reported a negative capital position, a condition that usually prompts regulators to step in and close a bank.
The Florida Office of Financial Regulation approved the purchase in a six-page emergency order Aug. 12. "Due to the probable failure of Old Harbor, the office is taking
immediate and emergency action as set forth in this order to minimize the interruption of customer services and the failure's impact on the FDIC's insurance fund," stated the order signed by
Commissioner J. Thomas Cardwell.
Community Bank officials could not be reached for comment Monday. They announced the purchase in a July 7 press release, but remained silent when they backed
out.
Trevor Burgess, chief executive officer of parent CBM Florida Holding Co., withdrew the purchase application Aug. 23 via an email to the Office of Financial Regulation.
"Due to circumstances beyond our control, we must regretfully withdraw our application to acquire Old Harbor Bank," he wrote. "As per the (word removed here) request we will not be making a public
statement at this time," he wrote. Read more here
Approved purchase of Old Harbor Bank
0856-fi-7-11.pdf
Adobe Acrobat document [151.5 KB]
FDIC-10-463b, OFR 0761-FI-7/10
FDIC-10-463b, OFR 0761-FI-710.pdf
Adobe Acrobat document [547.3 KB]
Notice, St. Petersburg Times, August 21, 2011
Thomas Dujenski to Neil Gillespie
2011, 09-15-11, FDIC Thomas Dujenski, Ol[...]
Adobe Acrobat document [36.8 KB]
Response of OFR to records request, proposed merger of Community Bank & Co. and Old Harbor Bank
OFR public records, Community Bank Co, [...]
Adobe Acrobat document [1.9 MB]
Email, Trevor Burgess, Community Bank wi[...]
Adobe Acrobat document [16.0 KB]
Rethinking strategy? Manatee
County bank backs off deal to buy Clearwater's ailing Old Harbor Bank
The St. Petersburg Times
Venture, by Robert Trigaux
September 20, 2011
Wake up and good morning. A Manatee County community bank -- whose expansion strategy eludes me, I must admit -- has backed away from its latest deal to buy and
recapitalize a near-death bank in Clearwater.
Lakewood Ranch-based Community Bank & Co. scrapped a $25 million deal to purchase the struggling Old Harbor Bank of Clearwater. The transaction was expected to close
this month but fell through in August even after Florida's primary banking regulator, Tom Cardwell (since replaced by Tom Grady by Gov. Rick Scott), fast-tracked its approval to avoid Old Harbor's
failure, the Sarasota Herald Tribune reports here.
Old Harbor is a critically undercapitalized, "zero star" (lowest health rating), $219 million-asset bank that operates seven offices in Pinellas and Pasco counties. It
lost $8.1 million through mid-year and reported a negative capital position, a condition that usually prompts regulators to step in and close a bank, the Herald Tribune states, though there are more
than 40 "zero star" banks in Florida alone... which means many must "take a number" before regulators have the manpower to seize them, "fail" them and sell their remains to healthier
institutions. Read more
here
Bank Failure: Old Harbor Bank, Clearwater, Florida
1st United Bank, Boca Raton, Florida, Assumes All of the Deposits of Old Harbor Bank, Clearwater, Florida
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 21, 2011
Old Harbor Bank, Clearwater, Florida, was closed today by the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as
receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with 1st United Bank, Boca Raton, Florida, to assume all of the deposits of Old Harbor
Bank.
The seven branches of Old Harbor Bank will reopen during their normal business hours beginning Saturday as branches of 1st United Bank. Depositors of Old Harbor Bank
will automatically become depositors of 1st United Bank. Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers to change their banking relationship in order to retain
their deposit insurance coverage up to applicable limits. Customers of Old Harbor Bank should continue to use their existing branch until they receive notice from 1st United Bank that it has
completed systems changes to allow other 1st United Bank branches to process their accounts as well.
This evening and over the weekend, depositors of Old Harbor Bank can access their money by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards. Checks drawn on the bank will
continue to be processed. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual.
As of June 30, 2011, Old Harbor Bank had approximately $215.9 million in total assets and $217.8 million in total deposits. In addition to assuming all of the deposits
of the failed bank, 1st United Bank agreed to purchase essentially all of the assets.
The FDIC and 1st United Bank entered into a loss-share transaction on $155.6 million of Old Harbor Bank's assets. 1st United Bank will share in the losses on the asset
pools covered under the loss-share agreement. The loss-share transaction is projected to maximize returns on the assets covered by keeping them in the private sector. The transaction also is expected
to minimize disruptions for loan customers. Read more here
FDIC Failed Bank Information, Old Harbor Bank, FL
FDIC Failed Bank Information, Old Harbor Bank, Clearwater, FL
On Friday, October 21, 2011, Old Harbor Bank, Clearwater, FL was closed by the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
(FDIC) was named Receiver. No advance notice is given to the public when a financial institution is closed.
The FDIC has assembled useful information regarding your relationship with this institution. Besides a checking account, you may have Certificates of Deposit, a car
loan, a business checking account, a commercial loan, a Social Security direct deposit, and other relationships with the institution. The FDIC has compiled the following information, which should
answer many of your questions. Read more here
Loss-Share Questions and Answers
What is loss sharing?
Loss sharing is a feature that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) first introduced into selected purchase and assumption transactions in 1991. Under loss
sharing, the FDIC absorbs a portion of the loss on a specified pool of assets which maximizes asset recoveries and minimizes FDIC losses through least-cost approaches. Loss sharing also reduces the
FDIC’s immediate cash needs, is operationally simpler and more seamless to failed bank customers and moves assets quickly into the private sector. Read more here
1st United Bank gets failed Old Harbor Bank
1st United Bank gets failed Old Harbor Bank
South Florida Business Journal
by Brian Bandell, Senior Reporter
October 21, 2011
1st United Bank expanded to Florida's West Coast with its acquisition of the failed Old Harbor Bank. The Florida Office of Financial Regulation closed Clearwater-based
Old Harbor Bank on Friday. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. gave its $215.9 million in assets and $217.8 million in deposits to Boca Raton-based 1st United Bank (NASDAQ: FUBC). The acquiring
institution entered into a loss-sharing agreement with the FDIC for $155.6 million of the failed bank’s assets. The FDIC will cover 70 percent of the losses on those assets, for up to $49 million in
losses.
1st United Bank acquired the bank at an $8.5 million discount to its book value. The acquisition includes the seven offices Old Harbor Bank has in Pinellas and Pasco
counties. It had $154 million in loans and $1.3 million in repossessed property that 1st United Bank will assume. The failure is expected to cost the FDIC’s deposit insurance fund $39.3 million. I is
the 12th bank failure in Florida this year. Read more
here
Old Harbor Bank fails, sold to 1st United Bank
Clearwater's Old Harbor Bank fails, its assets sold to Boca Raton's 1st United bank
St. Petersburg Times
by Jeff Harrington
October 22, 2011
Long-ailing Old Harbor Bank of Clearwater was closed by regulators Friday and its assets sold to 1st United Bank of Boca Raton. Old Harbor's seven branches will reopen
during normal business hours starting Saturday as 1st United branches.
Old Harbor has long been viewed as vulnerable to failure as one of eight Tampa Bay financial institutions operating under enforcement actions ordering it to raise
capital. Bank ratings firm Bauer Financial has given the firm its lowest ranking: a zero-star rating indicating "troubled."
1st United, in contrast, is a top-rated, five-star bank by Bauer, a rating signifying "superior" status. The institution, with $1.3 billion in assets and 15 locations,
is considered well capitalized.
1st United has completed two other acquisitions of failed banks, one in Miami and one in Coral Gables. This deal represents 1st United's first foray into the Tampa Bay
market. As of June 30, Old Harbor had about $216 million in assets and $218 million in deposits.
Community Bank & Co., a Manatee County bank growing quickly in the bay area, had planned to buy Old Harbor and recapitalize it with a $25 million investment. But
Community Bank's parent company, CBM Florida Holding, backed out of the deal in August. At the time, CBM chief executive officer Trevor Burgess said the bank was withdrawing its acquisition bid "due
to circumstances beyond our control" but did not elaborate. Read more here
Cost of Florida's 12 bank failures so far this year? $640.9 million to the FDIC, and counting
Cost of Florida's 12 bank failures so far this
year? $640.9 million to the FDIC, and counting
The St. Petersburg Times
by Robert Trigaux, Venture Blog
October 25, 2011
Bank failures in Florida alone this year have cost the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. $640.9 million, a tally shows of the 12 banks to fail in the Sunshine State since
the start of 2011. That's an average FDIC cost of failing of $53.4 million.
Nationwide, the FDIC's cost of all U.S. bank failures in 2011 is up to $6.96 billion, which means Florida banks so far this year have cost the FDIC 9.2 percent of the
nation's total cost. While Florida bank failures are more numerous than those in most other states, many of the banks that failed here are small, thus keeping their costs to the federal deposit
insurance fund relatively modest.
Here's the entire list of U.S. bank
failures and their individual costs to the FDIC. Read more here
New list: 42 Florida banks rated "zero star" and in serious financial trouble at mid-year
New list: 42 Florida banks rated "zero
star" and in serious financial trouble at mid-year
The St. Petersburg Times
by Robert Trigaux, Venture Blog
September 9, 2011
Across Florida there are 42 "zero star" banks (the lowest rated, the unhealthiest, however you want to describe them), according to data just compiled by Bauer Financial. The message? The banking crisis brought on by a severe recession and collaped real estate bubble remains in full
swing. Most of these 42 will not survive, history shows. Read more here
Print