- Texas
Madrid's Banco Popular Espanol SA is entering the U.S. market with a $300 million cash deal for TotalBank, a $1.4 billion-asset Miami institution.
July 12 -
The Miami area was hit hard when the housing bubble burst. Five years later, the area is starting to see more activity from foreign investors and new construction is under way, giving hope to the rest of the state's banks.
August 7 -
Opportunistic community banks in south Florida have seen a dramatic increase in new customers because of a contraction of banks caused by failures and mergers.
August 26
Longtime Miami banker Bill Heffernan is returning to the industry six years after selling TotalBank, a Florida lender he led for 18 years.
Heffernan is joining the board of directors of Apollo Bank in Miami, the $250 million-asset company announced Wednesday. He is the 16th member of the bank's board and will help further the bank's plans for expansion and advise its management, the company said.
Apollo Bank is led by chairman Eddy Arriola, who served on TotalBank's board from 2001 through 2007, and president and chief executive Richard Dailey, a longtime friend and colleague of Heffernan's, according to the press release.
Heffernan has been in the banking industry for nearly four decades and has been involved in several bank mergers and sales. He was president and chief executive of TotalBank from 1991 through his retirement in 2009. Banco Popular Espanol, in Madrid,
Heffernan's "market knowledge and operational expertise are a welcome addition as we grow Apollo Bank's client base, recruit top-tier talent, and continue our path to becoming the best-run bank in Florida," Dailey said in the news release. He "will serve as an Apollo Bank ambassador in the community and a trusted source of counsel for our team members."
Heffernan began his banking career at First National Bank of Miami. He joined Plaza Bank as head of lending in 1980; following Plaza's sale in 1991, he joined TotalBank as president and CEO.
Heffernan also served as mayor of Miami Shores, a small enclave in Miami-Dade County, from 1993 through 1995. He was a board member of the Florida Bankers Association from 1998 through 2009, and is currently chairman of the board of trustees of Barry University in Miami Shores.
Apollo, which was founded in 2010, has three branches in South Florida. It earned $248,000 in the second quarter of 2013, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
