According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Florida-based banks grew their loan portfolios by almost $4 billion in the third quarter of 2015, an increase of 2.58 percent. This number represents more than twice the national average (1.1 percent). The growth took place despite a decrease in the number of overall institutions. There were 165 banks in Florida as of Sept. 30, down from 168 at the end of June 30 and 200 as of Sept. 30 of last year.
The speed of loan growth slowed to 2.9 percent growth during the second quarter. However, quarterly profits were up as Florida banks reported total profits of $382 million, up from $347 million in the second quarter. Nationally banks earned a total of $40.4 billion in the third quarter, down from $43 billion in the second quarter.
