Bank to open two offices; hires senior executive in St. Petersburg, Darren Lydting, to oversee growth in the two new markets

CORAL GABLES, FL / ACCESSWIRE / July 26, 2021 / Professional Bank, which opened during the Great Recession and has become one of South Florida's fastest-growing financial institutions, is taking its concierge-style platform to other Florida regions. The Bank announced it is opening loan production offices in Tampa/St. Petersburg and Jacksonville to tap into the strong economic growth in those markets.

For the Coral Gables-based Bank, the move marks the first time it has expanded within the state beyond South Florida. In 2020, it opened a loan production office in New England to focus exclusively on a niche lending product.

"We have been interested in entering both of these markets for some time, but wanted to wait for the right opportunity," said Daniel R. Sheehan, Chairman and CEO of Professional Bank and Professional Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:PFHD). "With the pandemic largely behind us, and the right team in place, we are excited about our prospects in both Tampa and Jacksonville."

Daniel R. Sheehan

Professional Bank tapped banking veteran Darren Lydting, as Executive Vice President/Regional Marketing Executive, to oversee the expansion. He is based in St. Petersburg.

Lydting started his career in South Florida in the mid-1990s and for the last several years was responsible for growing the presence of two different banks in Central and North Florida. Immediately prior to joining Professional Bank, Lydting was Market President for the Tampa Bay area for a prominent regional bank headquartered in Arkansas. Before that, he spent nearly two decades with an established Miami-based bank, most recently as an Executive Vice President.

"I couldn't be more excited to be part of the Professional Bank team and help it accomplish its growth objectives outside of South Florida," said Lydting. "This is a Bank that really gets it. Everything they do is focused on building strong relationships with clients and helping them get what they need. I believe this will be a welcome message to businesses and individuals in Tampa Bay and Jacksonville."

Darren Lydting

Initially, Professional Bank plans on employing eight people between the two markets. Lydting has already hired two bankers to join his team in Tampa Bay, with plans to add two more.

Three additional team members will be hired in Jacksonville. Most of the positions will be loan officers tasked with developing new business. The Bank expects to finalize leases for office space in both markets in the coming weeks.

Professional Bank was established in 2008 to provide a private banking experience for small- to mid-size businesses and individuals. The Bank experienced tremendous organic growth over the next decade by focusing on building strong relationships and offering customized banking solutions.

In February 2020, the Bank went public and sold its shares on the open market. Six weeks later, it completed a deal to merge with Coral Gables-based Marquis Bank, adding new customers and branch locations in South Florida. Through its Digital innovation Center in Cleveland, Ohio, the Bank continues to make significant investments in technology to discover new ways to improve the customer experience.

About Professional Bank and Professional Holding Corp.:

Professional Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:PFHD) is the financial holding company for Professional Bank, a Florida state-chartered bank established in 2008 and based in Coral Gables, Florida. Professional Bank focuses on providing creative, relationship-driven commercial banking products and services designed to meet the needs of small- to medium-sized businesses, the owners and operators of these businesses, professionals and entrepreneurs. Professional Bank currently operates its Florida network through nine branch locations and two Loan Production Offices in the regional areas of Miami, Broward, Palm Beach, Duval (Jacksonville), Hillsborough and Pinellas (Tampa Bay) counties. It also has a Digital Innovation Center located in Cleveland, Ohio and a Loan Production Office in New England. For more information, visit www.myprobank.com. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender.

Forward Looking Statements

This communication contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements contained in this presentation that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements preceded by, followed by or including words such as "anticipate," "intend," "believe," "estimate," "plan," "seek," "project" or "expect," "may," "will," "would," "could" or "should" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements represent the Company's current expectations, plans or forecasts and involve significant risks and uncertainties. Several important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Those factors include, without limitation, current and future economic and market conditions, including those that could impact credit quality and the ability to generate loans and gather deposits; the duration, extent and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the governments' responses to the pandemic, on our and our customers' operations, personnel, and business activity (including developments and volatility), as well as COVID-19's impact on the credit quality of our loan portfolio and financial markets and general economic conditions; the effects of our lack of a diversified loan portfolio and concentration in the South Florida market; the impact of current and future interest rates and expectations concerning the actual timing and amount of interest rate movements; competition; our ability to execute business plans; geopolitical developments; legislative and regulatory developments; inflation or deflation; market fluctuations; natural disasters (including pandemics such as COVID-19); critical accounting estimates; and other factors described in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company disclaims any obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements included herein to reflect future events or developments or changes in expectations, except as may be required by law.

Media Contact:
Eric Kalis or Todd Templin, BoardroomPR
ekalis@boardroompr.com / ttemplin@boardroompr.com
954-370-8999

SOURCE: Professional Holding Corp.

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