Safety & Soundness

With the recent turmoil in the financial markets, individuals and businesses in our community are naturally concerned with the safety and soundness of their deposits.

For more than 25 years, The Bank of Tampa has served locally owned businesses and professional firms in our community, helping them grow their companies in good times and weather the inevitable downturns. Our consistent focus on our niche and our conservative, long-term approach has allowed us to avoid the issues now facing some of the financial institutions that have been in the news.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) does not permit a bank to release the “safety and soundness” rating assigned to the bank as a result of periodic regulatory examinations. Therefore, there are a number of independent bank rating services who seek to evaluate the safety and soundness of a bank, based primarily on financial information that is publicly available. While not endorsing or recommending any of these independent rating services, the FDIC provides links to these services on their website at www.fdic.gov. A summary of the ratings assigned to The Bank of Tampa by three of these independent rating services are as follows:

• Bauer Financial, Inc. has assigned The Bank of Tampa a rating of “Excellent.” This rating information is available at no charge at www.bauerfinancial.com.

• IDC Financial Publishing has assigned The Bank of Tampa a rating of “Excellent.” A fee is required to obtain rating information, but can be found at www.idcfp.com.

• Bankrate.com has assigned The Bank of Tampa a rating of “Performing.” This rating information is available at no charge at www.bankrate.com.

Collectively, these independent ratings attest to the safety and soundness of The Bank of Tampa.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss any of your concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us at (813) 998-1999. One of our bank executives will be happy to speak with you.

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Notice of Changes in Temporary FDIC Insurance Coverage for Transaction Accounts

All funds in a “non-interest bearing transaction account” are insured in full by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation from December 31, 2010 through December 31, 2012. This temporary unlimited coverage is in addition to, and separate from, the coverage of at least $250,000 available to depositors under the FDIC’s general deposit insurance rules.

The term “non-interest bearing transaction account” includes a traditional checking account or demand deposit account on which the insured depository institution pays no interest. It also includes Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts ("IOLTAs"). It does not include other accounts, such as traditional checking or demand deposit accounts that may earn interest, NOW accounts, and money market deposit accounts.

For more information about temporary FDIC insurance coverage of transaction accounts, visit www.fdic.gov.

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In accordance with the FDIC’s revised definition of “non-interest bearing transaction accounts”, the following accounts offered by The Bank of Tampa are covered under the Transaction Account Guarantee Program through December 31, 2012:  Personal Checking; Diamond Personal Checking; Senior Checking; Small Business Checking; Commercial Checking Accounts; Attorney's Interest-On-Trust Accounts (IOTAs).