text: The undisclosed retired executive did not request a seat on the board of Sanibel Captiva Community Bank. “It's a passive investment,” says David Carleton Hall, the bank's executive vice president, chief financial officer and chief operating officer.
  Real estate lending has always been the bread-and-butter business of community banks in Florida and Sanibel Captiva Community Bank is no exception. Hall estimates 65% of the bank's loans are for residential real estate, another 30% for commercial real estate and the rest are consumer loans.
  “Construction loans is one of our niches,” says Albert, who was named businessperson of the year last year by the Sanibel & Captiva Islands Chamber of Commerce.
  For example, the bank provides construction loans for retirees building a home in Florida, financing it while they sell their primary residence up north.
  Sanibel Captiva Bank specializes in real estate loans that take more time and paperwork to complete, such a bridge loan on the purchase of a condo. “We can charge a little bit more because it's a harder deal to get done,” Albert says. “We work real hard to get loans done that are not easy.”
  Higher interest rates from such loans combined with lower expenses on its deposits have boosted the bank's interest margin. Over the last few years, Sanibel Captiva Community Bank has shifted away from higher-expense certificates of deposit to transaction accounts that pay less interest.
  Albert says the bank has developed a good reputation with Realtors because they can arrange such loans. What's more, many Realtors have business accounts with the bank. “A lot of Realtors know we get deals done,” Albert says.
  In addition, the bank keeps more of its loans on the books. “Years ago we would sell off 75% of our loans,” Hall says. Today, that percentage has dropped to 55% and the bank retains 45% on its books. (Banks frequently sell government-conforming loans to larger banks or government-backed mortgage companies, who package them and sell them as mortgage-backed securities to investors.)
  But many of the loans Sanibel Captiva Community Bank makes are short-term and many of its customers are averse to debt despite low interest rates. For example, the bank made $9.5 million in loans in January but customers paid off $9 million worth of loans that month.
  The bank's average loan life is a relatively short two- to two-and-a-half years. Loan growth last year rose just 2.8% and deposits fell 5%. “Our biggest challenge now is loans that pay off,” says Hall. “Twenty-five percent of our loans paid off last year.”
  Still, Hall says the bank is efficient because it lends 100% of its deposits compared with industry average of 80%. “We stay loaned up,” Albert notes.
  And executives say they keep a close watch on overhead expenses. “We're tight, we're frugal,” Hall says, noting you can barely fit three people in the CEO's office. “Craig doesn't have a palatial office,” Hall says.
  Sanibel Captiva Community Bank executives have been venturing off-island to make loans, too. “There's nowhere for us to grow out here,” says Hall on a recent visit to the bank's headquarters on Sanibel, where there is little developable land left.
  The bank retained many customers who moved off the islands settled in Fort Myers near McGregor Boulevard to be closer to health care and other services. “Our McGregor office is a phenomenal office,” says Hall.
  In December, the bank opened its fourth location, a branch in the Myerlee neighborhood of Fort Myers. And in February, the bank opened a fifth branch inside its operations center on College Parkway in Fort Myers.
  The bank is active in South Lee County and Collier County, too, though there are no immediate plans to open branches there. Home construction loans are popular there as new residents continue to move to the area. “We do a lot of loans in Collier County,” says Albert.
  Like any good business, Sanibel Captiva Community Bank attracts customers through referrals; the bank doesn't spend any money advertising in newspapers, television or radio.
  Instead, it supports 85 community organizations through its involvement and charitable contributions to nonprofits. “That's where we spend our money,” Hall says.