What a time to be in banking.

And what a time to be in banking for Sanibel Captiva Community Bank.

Founded in 2003 by Craig Albert on Sanibel Island, with servicing the two islands in mind, the bank expanded to mainland Lee County with locations in Gateway, downtown Fort Myers, College Parkway, Winkler Road and McGregor Boulevard.

It has seven branches with an eighth slated to open late May or early June.

The $5 million renovation and construction project, which added 4,000 square feet to the existing 12,000-square-foot structure at 9311 College Parkway, just east of McGregor Boulevard and on the southeast corner, is being completed by Owen Ames Kimball Co.

Sanibel Captiva Community Bank purchased the property December 2018 for $1.6 million. The long-vacant First American Bank had just been sitting there, shuttered and dormant, since 2008, at a challenging location for most businesses, in the shadows of a flyover.

Albert and his team are counting on that flyover for further expansion within Lee County, tapping into the Cape Coral market, just over the bridge.

Sanibel Captiva Community Bank began by managing about $30 million in assets. It now manages about $460 million. It’s also in the process of moving its original branch from 2475 Library Way to 2406 Periwinkle Way, into a former SunTrust branch that’s now being renovated after a December purchase for $1.8 million. It should be ready to open by the end of this year.

The Library Way location has been sold to the city of Sanibel, also for $1.8 million in December. It will create additional space for the city’s adjacent senior citizen center.

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Like all banks, Sanibel Captiva Community Bank branches do not have lobbies open because of COVID-19, but operations are continuing through email, phone and drive-thru locations.

“I love the story of our bank,” said Amy McQuagge, the bank’s director of marketing. “We grew so quickly off island, we really became a local community bank for all of Lee County. I attribute that to the corporate culture that’s been established. We’re very laid back. We’re not the stereotypical coat and tie, buttoned-up bankers.

“Our customers are finding that out. We answer our phones. You can get a hold of your banker. We can be nimble and quick with our decision-making, because every decision we make is local.”

Plenty of phones have been ringing, and plenty of decisions are being made because of COVID-19 and the financial changes it has wrought.

“Our customers, they need help,” said David Hall, the bank’s chief financial officer and one of seven original employees still on board. “Our customers have been devastated by the economic impact of the coronavirus. We have worked with our loan clients who need assistance. We take the April 1, the May 1 and the June 1 payments. You don’t owe that to us now. If the end of your loan is say, the end of 2030, we add that to the end of the loan. That’s a whole lot easier than making people pay double payments. We’re doing the best we can to help them out.”

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Over the past four weeks, as small businesses across Lee County have shut down, they have been trying to pay their employees through Payroll Protection Plan (PPP) loans granted by banks through the Small Business Administration.

“We’ve got over 450 of the SBA PPP applications,” Albert said. “We’ve already got 180 of them approved by the SBA. We’re starting to fund the first few.

“We’ve been working evenings. We’ve got employees who will be working Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, frantically uploading applications to get the approval. I expect by 5 p.m. Monday to have at least 310 applications approved. We have 150 applications where we don’t have enough information yet from our borrowers. Those 150 I expect we’ll get all of those uploaded as well.”

Albert has been at this through plenty of challenges. The aftermaths of hurricanes Charley in 2004 and Irma in 2017 were severe, as of course were the Great Recession years following 2008.

“Even though I’ve been here in banking for 38 years, I haven’t really seen this before,” Albert said. “It’s still early in this one. It’s definitely different.”

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About 65% of the bank’s dealings are residential home loans and 35% are small business loans.

“Back in ‘08 and ‘09, there were some properties that had dropped 90 percent in value,” Albert said. “That’s just not in the banking book. This crisis is different in that it has made such an impact on small restaurants and shops. Here on Sanibel, they’re pretty much shut down. They’re doing pickup and delivery, but it’s really crushed their revenues.

"This is when all of our merchants and our convenience stores, T-shirts shops, all these businesses that we bank, this is when they stockpile cash. They stockpile cash now, and they use that cash when we get to September, October and November. Instead of stockpiling cash, they’re burning through cash.”

Albert witnessed financial carnage when he graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1982, when tens of thousands of Pittsburgh steel workers were losing their jobs. That’s when he moved to Lee County.

“Right now, the really good news, and I’ve talked to a ton of our small business clients: Every single small business client that I’ve talked to in the past couple of weeks, their attitude is phenomenal,” Albert said. “They’re going to work through this thing. In the season of 2021, they’re going to be back, making money again.”

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Albert and his team are going one-day-at-a-time but eyeing the long-term as well.

“My goal as the CEO of the bank is if I can get them to Thanksgiving, that means I can get them to Christmas,” Albert said. “And Christmas is usually the best week of the year for businesses out here. We just have to hope that 2021 is phenomenal.”

CONSTRUCTION DOESN’T STOP: Construction is considered an essential business, and until the money spigots stop, it will continue throughout Lee County.

The City of Fort Myers had 3,367 active building permits through April 7. Of those, 519 were issued after March 16, the day President Trump declared a national emergency.

The City of Cape Coral has about 5,600 active construction permits. Of those, about 1,400 were issued on or after March 16. Since then, the city has received at least 1,479 permit applications, according to city records.

Greater Lee County had 9,188 construction permits open entering April. Of them, 1,894 were granted on or after March 16.

Note: these number include all types of permits, including new construction, electrical, plumbing, roofs, signs, etc.

LEE COUNTY HOTLINE: Lee County businesses seeking recovery assistance can access an online portal at leegov.com/covid-19/business or by calling the business assistance hotline at (239) 533-2273 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays.

The county has received more than 200 calls since opening the hotline April 1, said Pamela Johnson, deputy director of the Lee County visitor and convention bureau. She is one of about two dozen county employees who have been trained to advise locals on where and how to find financial assistance, pointing them to the right direction in finding different loans and programs. This includes CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act).

“Really, they are designed to be a place for local people, residents to go for questions,” Johnson said. “Anything from small business-related questions, not-for-profit organizations and employees who might have questions concerning unemployment. So many are dealing with those right now.

“The portal is an important resource. When you go there and reach the landing page, you’ll see resources for businesses. That will also take you to a page that gives you a phone number or an email address, kind of a road map to walk you through the process.

"If you’re a small business, and you want to know more about the CARES relief act, or you’re an employee looking for information about unemployment benefits, we want to help.”

For unemployment claims, Johnson said the advice is to fill out the paper application and mail it to the state.

“We think that’s the best way to do it,” Johnson said. “We know there might be some people out there who don’t know where to turn. We’re trying to make sure we’re getting the information out to our community. We know a lot of people need help. The county is offering this resource during this challenging time.”