Florida group applies to open de novo bank

A group in Florida is looking to form a de novo bank. 

Organizers of Evermore Bank in Fort Lauderdale applied on Tuesday with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for deposit insurance. 

The group plans to raise $26 million to $45 million of initial capital, according to the application. Organizers intend to open a second branch in Wellington, Fla., during the first quarter of the bank's first year of operations.

The goal is for Evermore to become profitable by the first quarter of its third year in business. Organizers also plan to reach $235 million of assets, $215 million of deposits and $172 million of loans by the end of the bank's third year.  

Steven Sanzone would serve as the proposed bank’s CEO.

Sanzone was a market president at Grove Bank & Trust from November 2019 to December 2021, according to his LinkedIn profile. Before that, he was a banker at Stonegate Bank for 13 years.

The FDIC has received three applications for deposit insurance this year and six since late November.