![\"Kennard](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/KenPage_t850.jpg\" "\\"Kennard")
<\/p>\nTampa Bay could soon see another new community bank if regulators approve a new application from a group of Florida banking veterans and investors. One twist to the startup: some key leaders in this bank are themselves former federal banking regulators.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, New South Bank filed its applications for a state charter with the Florida Office of Financial Regulation and the FDIC to establish a Tampa Bay area bank designed to serve small businesses.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The bank aims to serve clients statewide, with a full range of commercial and retail banking products and a strong emphasis on small business lending. In recent years, Florida has lost nearly 70% of its locally-headquartered banks, the group says in a release, reducing access to the \u201crelationship-driven banking\u201d New South Bank aims to provide.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Kennard Page is the proposed chairman and chief executive officer of New South Bank.<\/p>\n
Image via Ken Page \/ LinkedIn<\/p>\n
While de novo banks have become increasingly rare in the past decade, New South Bank \u2014 if approved \u2014 would be the second such bank to launch in the Tampa Bay region in recent months. Last fall, Echelon Bank\u00a0<\/a>became the first de novo bank to launch in Tampa Bay in the last five years, FDIC records show, and one of only a handful of new community banks nationwide.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are building New South Bank to address a clear need in the market,\u201d says Kennard Page, proposed Chairman and CEO, in the release. \u201cSmall businesses are looking for knowledgeable banking partners who can deliver consistently and provide speed, transparency, and responsiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n Thomas Welsh is the proposed president and CFO of New South Bank.<\/p>\n Image via Thomas Welsh \/ LinkedIn<\/p>\n Another rarity: New South Bank’s founders include two former federal officials who previously worked for the federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.\u00a0<\/p>\n Page is a former senior bank regulator who, like many of New South Bank\u2019s founders, previously worked for HomeBanc as its primary regulator from the OCC. He brings more than 35 years experience supervising and examining national banks and previously was a director of multiple banking institutions. New South board member Charles Race also worked for the OCC, with a decades-long career as a bank examiner.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n New South Bank\u2019s President and CFO is Thomas Welsh, former controller and chief accounting officer for HomeBanc who most recently worked as executive vice president and CFO of CapTec USA, a Tampa-based financial services firm specializing in facilitating Small Business Administration (SBA) loans.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Thomas](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776522911023_t850.jpg\" "\\"Thomas")
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