Coastal Bank and Trust

Coastal Bank and Trust
Industry	Banking
Location	One Pensacola Plaza, headquarters 27 branches
Established	2008 (merger)
Owner	Synovus
Employees	300
Website	coastalbankandtrust.com

"Bank of Pensacola" redirects here. For the early bank of that name, see Bank of Pensacola (19th century). For other uses, see Bank of Pensacola (disambiguation).

Coastal Bank and Trust is a regional bank, owned by Georgia-based Synovus, that was formed in December 2008 from a merger between the Bank of Pensacola and Vanguard Bank and Trust of Valparaiso. Bank of Pensacola (not to be confused with an earlier bank of the same name) dates back to 1972 and had previously merged with several other local banks, including Horizon Bank of Florida and First American Bank of Pensacola.

The bank has more than $1.8 billion in assets with over 300 employees and 27 locations. Thomas "Bo" Carter is the current president and CEO of the company, having been a co-founder and president of First American and named CEO of Bank of Pensacola in 2004.

History

Vanguard Bank & Trust Company was established on January 1, 1922 in Valparaiso. It was acquired by Synovus in (date needed).

Bank of Pensacola was established as a state bank on October 11, 1972. It was acquired by Synovus in 1990 with $48.5 million in assets.

On August 20, 1999, members of the Nobles family who owned Horizon Bank of Florida announced they would merge with Bank of Pensacola for $19.35 million in stock. The family had previously vowed to keep their third-generation, 76-year-old bank independent. Horizon president Jack Nobles was made senior vice president of the resulting company, and the Horizon lighthouse symbol was retained in the bank's logo.

In 2001, Bank of Pensacola merged again with the First American Bank of Pensacola. The same year, the bank relocated its headquarters from 400 West Garden Street to the One Pensacola Plaza building, becoming the building's largest tenant and hoisting its logo on the exterior.

Bank of Pensacola reached $1 billion in assets in September 2005.

In August 2008, Synovus announced it would combine its two companies, Bank of Pensacola and Vanguard Bank and Trust, renamed Coastal Bank and Trust. "The new name is more representative of our market place and new footprint across the Panhandle," said Bo Carter, Bank of Pensacola's president and CEO who remained head of the new company. The merger was completed on December 15.