WESTON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Today, we opened 25 banking centers in all of our major markets, providing full services to our valued consumer and commercial customers. As your community banking partner, we at Florida Community Bank (“FCB”) want to ensure our customers and communities are informed on the status of their local banking institution operations now that Hurricane Irma has passed. Our commercial and consumer bankers have been contacting customers to offer assistance.

“FCB, your Florida Based and Florida Focused institution, is committed to being open for business and is already working with customers to ensure our communities recover quickly. Our thoughts and energy are directed to our customers, employees and neighbors impacted by Hurricane Irma,” said Kent Ellert, FCB President & CEO. “Our organic, know your customer approach to community banking has enabled us to quickly reach out across our customer footprint to understand the scale of the impact. Preliminary feedback indicates that luckily, like myself, our customers are mostly experiencing severe inconveniences rather than critical or structural needs with isolated exceptions in certain areas. We expect many of these to be resolved as fuel and electrical services are restored and cleanup efforts progress.”

In our efforts to help impacted communities and customers jump start Florida’s recovery, we have taken the following actions:

• Established an expedited home equity lending process for customers needing restoration funds quickly, at discounted rates;
• Established an expedited certificate of deposit secured recovery lending process, at discounted rates;
• Temporarily suspended overdraft and ATM transaction fees;
• Temporarily waived the following fees for FCB branded credit cards: late fees, overlimit, phone pay, statement copy request, rush card and account management fees;
• Temporarily suspended late loan payment fees on consumer, home equity, mortgage and small business loans;
• Authorized our community and commercial lending teams to provide any necessary payment extensions and interest only relief periods to affected borrowers to aid in recovery;
• Committed resources and community service from FCB and our employee base throughout the recovery process; and
• Established a relief fund for our associates that were most affected, in which every dollar contributed will be matched by FCB.

All additional operational updates and specific location hours of operation will be posted to our website, www.FloridaCommunityBank.com, with the latest developments. Customers currently have full access to their online banking services. Additionally, FCB is connected to Presto! ATMs at Publix®, with access to over 1,000 ATMs statewide at no charge.

About Florida Community Bank

Florida Community Bank, N.A., (NYSE: FCB) is the largest community banking company and the second largest Florida-based independent bank, and among the most highly capitalized banks in the state. Awarded a five-star rating from Bauer Financial™, FCB assets are more than $10 billion, with capital ratios that exceed regulatory standards. Since its founding in 2010, FCB has been steadfast in its commitment to delivering personalized service, innovation, and products and services equal to those offered by the national banks. Similarly, FCB recognizes the importance of community, fostering a corporate culture that promotes employee volunteerism at all levels, while supporting community-based programs and partnerships that help promote greater financial independence and improved quality of life for families. FCB serves individuals, businesses and communities across the state with 46 full-service banking centers from east to west, and from Daytona Beach to Miami-Dade. For more information, visit FloridaCommunityBank.com., Equal Housing Lender, Member FDIC.

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