News

Tuesday, February 01, 2005

7 am to 7 pm Banking Offered at Clermont

BankFIRST Offers 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Banking at New Clermont Office

CLERMONT, Fla...BankFIRST's new Clermont office has introduced expanded 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. banking hours, a first in Clermont and Lake County, as well as 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. hours on Saturday, in both the lobby and drive-up.  During the grand opening period of this third expansion of the Clermont office, located at 1000 East Highway 50, a special 2.99 percent introductory APR is available when opening a no closing cost Home Equity Line of Credit.   BankFIRST also offers free personal and business checking account products and a free coin counting service.

“The new Clermont location has benefited our customers with state of the art banking services, as well as setting a benchmark for future architectural projects in South Lake county.  The building, including the 45' clock tower, will be an impressive landmark for years to come,” said Rob Berens, Area President.  

Berens, along with a local Board of Directors led by Leslie Longacre, Chairman, maintains a strong commitment to Clermont and the surrounding area.  “For over 10 years, BankFIRST has taken pride in the fact that we play an active role in the growth of South Lake, in both banking and community service,” Berens said.  “We only hope to continue this trend by offering a number of enhanced customer service-related initiatives unique to our marketplace.”

BankFIRST began as a state-chartered, federally insured commercial bank in 1989.  In 2004, the bank launched the innovative SBA (Small Business Administration) Express Loan Center, which serves as an economic development resource for the Central Florida community.  The center offers small businesses access to one of the widest arrays of government-guaranteed loans available at any bank in the region, one-day SBA preferred lender loan approvals, and BankFIRST is the only bank in Florida to pay the guaranty fee for its clients, representing a savings of up to $53,750. 

BankFIRST is headquartered in Winter Park with an additional six branches in Apopka, Clermont, Eustis, Goldenrod, Winter Garden and Sanford.  For the year ending December 31, 2004, the bank reported total assets of $270 million and record profits of $2.1 million.