Alabama National buying bank

Birmingham's Alabama National BanCorp. said Thursday it will buy a central Florida bank in a deal valued at $110 million.

Florida Choice Bancshares is based in Mt. Dora, Fla., a town situated between Orlando and Ocala that is best known for its antique shops and festivals. The bank operates six offices and has assets of about $325 million. Two additional offices are scheduled to open by mid-2006.

Alabama National will issue about 1.5 million shares of stock plus $5.12 million in cash to Florida Choice shareholders. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2006.

The addition of Florida Choice will rank Alabama National as the 10th largest bank in the Orlando area in terms of deposits, according to FDIC deposit data. Alabama National's Florida holdings now account for more than one third of the bank's total assets of $5.9 billion. Last year, the bank announced or completed three acquisitions in the fast-growing Sunshine State.

"We are very pleased to have Florida Choice Bank join our organization," said John Holcomb, chief executive of Alabama National. "Its history of excellent service and community banking in greater Orlando has allowed it to grow to over $325 million in assets. At the same time it has maintained excellent asset quality and profitability."

Alabama National has for years tended to stay away from big city centers where it would have to compete with banks such as Wachovia, Bank of America or SunTrust. Instead, it has focused on suburbs surrounding cities such as Orlando and Daytona Beach, and on midsized cities with booming housing markets and strong per capita incomes.

Sterne Agee & Leach banking analyst James Schutz in a report issued Thursday noted that Florida Choice operates in a particularly high growth area of Florida.

From 2000 to 2004, Census reports show the Orlando metropolitan area, which includes four counties, has outpaced the state of Florida in terms of population growth. The Orlando area grew 13.2 percent. By comparison, the entire state grew 8.8 percent, Schutz said.

"If you can get a franchise in Orlando provided you don't overpay, you're in good shape," Schutz said.

Alabama National operates 85 branches through 10 bank subsidiaries in Alabama, Georgia and Florida, including Birmingham-based First American Bank.

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.