American Enterprise Bank to open in Northeast Florida

SOUTHSIDE - Northeast Florida will be getting a new bank in March when American Enterprise Bank of Florida opens its doors to customers.

Veteran banker Bennett Brown, who has been a banking executive in Jacksonville for 28 years, said Enterprise has raised $8.8 million in capital and obtained conditional approval from both the Florida Office of Financial Regulation an the Federal Deposit I surance Commission.

The bank is scheduled to open in early March in the Quadrant II building east of Interstate 95 off J. Turner Butler Boulevard.

With dozens of banks and credit unions for small businesses and individuals to choose from, Brown said American Enterprise will differentiate itself by giving employees more authority to act and by offering superior service. Tellers, for example, will have the authority to waive fees and lenders won't be bound by customers' credit scores in determining whether to make a loan. Lenders also will be able to make decisions within hours and customers will be able to reach lending officers seven days a week, 24 hours a day, he said.

The bank will offer a courier service throughout the First Coast area to pick up deposits. While the courier is intended to serve small businesses and professional groups such as attorneys and doctors, Brown said it would also pick up deposits from individuals if requested.

Brown said the bank's clientele will encompass anyone looking for an intimate banking relationship. "We'd love small business, commercial and residential real estate developers and we'll do a lot with doctors lawyers and CPAs, but we're a full service bank for anyone in Jacksonville, no matter what age, what income or what net worth," he said.

Brown will serve as president and has chosen a slate of officers with whom he has worked in the past, including Jodi Bowen, senior vice president and cashier; Perry Kenner, senior vice president and chief financial officer; and Pam Korn, senior vice president and senior lender.

Brown said that while the current office is on the Spartan side - "The only art we have on the walls are a couple of city maps" - he expects to open other branches as the business grows.