United Bank is getting out the sunscreen lotion.
The D.C. area-based bank is opening its first branch in the Sunshine State.
“We are going to be opening an office soon in Palm Beach, Florida,” Rick Adams, chief executive officer of United Bankshares and United Bank, said.
The Palm Beach office will be the bank’s first physical location in Florida, as it continues to grow its business across the South. United Bank currently operates more than 240 offices in D.C., Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Georgia.
“About 10 years ago we decided to focus on building a franchise in the Southeast,” Adams told WTOP. “We have been moving in that direction. Moved down into Richmond, to North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, so Florida really is a natural extension of our franchise.”
While Palm Beach has welcomed many famous clients over the years, including Sylvester Stallone, Howard Stern and Jon Bon Jovi, United Bank plans to provide more than wealth management services there. Adams said the bank will offer commercial services, consumer banking and private banking as a “full-service operation.”
Why Florida? Adams, who works from United Bank’s main corporate office on K Street NW in downtown D.C., said Florida is a logical next step for the bank.
“I think that we see opportunities for growth and diversification,” he said. “Our expansion strategy has always been driven by getting into new growth markets, and Florida is one of the best growth markets in the country. They have low taxes, strong demographics, really good economic growth, pro-business policies. So we see Florida as one of the best growth markets in the country.”
And he said United Bank is no stranger to the area. “In fact, we have more than three quarters of a billion dollars in loans already in Florida throughout the state,” he said, “so it’s a market that — even though we haven’t been there with a physical presence — we know it well. We’ve had a lot of success there.”
Adams said United Bank also plans to open a new office in Buckhead, a major business district in the Atlanta area, likely by the middle of next year.
“We are in the Atlanta market,” he said. “We bought a bank there, closed that deal last year, but we don’t have any locations in the Buckhead area so I think that Atlanta is a focus for us as well as Florida, and then maybe even extending our franchise down the Carolina coast into Georgia.”
Overall, Adams likes the way his Southern strategy is playing out. “We have over 100 offices now in the Southeast,” he said, “and we’ve been very pleased with our experience there.”
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