Power players file to launch Apollo Bank in Coral Gables - South Florida Business Journal:

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The move may evoke visions of the instead, as some banks teeter towared collapse and others struggle toraiss capital. But, the future Coral Gablesx bank's founders have a wealth of experience as entrepreneurse andremain undaunted. "Oufr board of directors are believers that if you providegreat service, the market will help said Eddy Arriola, the proposed chairman of Apollo Bank's "They believe in the strength of the U.S. and Soutn Florida economy in the next25 years. The lifeblood of the Floridza economy will continue to be smallto mid-size businesses drive by entrepreneurs." The bank will focue on local businesses in that category, including offering -backer loans.
Its directors have plenty of experiencd withgrowing businesses. Arriola, the son of former Miami City ManagerJoe Arriola, is the founder and managinb director of . He was a director at TotalBank unti l its2007 buyout. Six member s of Apollo Bank's proposed board have servesd as directors atother banks. Arriolza said the idea of starting a bank has been percolatin g forseveral years. Starting with commerciak real state titans Matthew Adlert andWilliam Holly, Arriola gathered investors and peoplre with financial experience. He lured Richarr Dailey away from , where he was COO, to be Apolli Bank's president and CEO.
Dailey said Apollo Bank's investors will set up a fiscallusound shop, instead of lookingt to sell in a few years. He founded and led for 20 year until its sale toin 1997. "The products bankws offer are pretty muchthe same, but it comew down to how you focus on your target market and the peopl e you've got," Dailey said. "Locally owned businesses are haviny a harder timegetting financing. It's common that thei r bank is spending so much time solvinfg its problems thatit doesn't have time to devoted to customers." Miami-based banking analyst Kenneth H.
Thomas agrees, saying this is a good time to starty a bank and pick up unsatisfiedc or rejected clients fromother banks. He said Apolll Bank's star-studded board would help it raise capital. Thomas also liked its location, at 1826 Ponce de Leon with a retail entrance inCoral Gables' financia l district. The bank's application discloses that the bank's 4,676-square-foot lease is with Poncer Explorers, a joint venture between Arriolaqand Holly, but they did not discuss or vote on that $141,0000 annual lease before the "Having friendly landlords with favorable terms for the bank is certainly a factor," Arriolaz said of the Pending regulatory approval and raising $20 milliob -$5 million of which has been pledgef by board members - Apollo Bank shoulc open there in earlyh 2009, Dailey said.
Chairman Eddy co-founder and managing director ofInktekl Direct, former board member of director of gMed. Owns 90,000 shares. President and CEO Richard Dailey: Former COO of Coconut Grove Bankand founder/formere CEO of Dadeland Bank, which was acquired by Colonialk Bank. Owns 27,000 shares. Matthew Adler: senior VP and chiefr investment officerof , a majo commercial real estate firm. Owns 42,000 shares. Roberg Behar: president of architectural firm BeharFont Partners. Owns 40,000 shares. Robert founder of law firm Baxtetr & Elias, specializing in real estate andcorporatre law. Formerly represented the FDIC and the with bank Owns 40,000 shares.
Luis Hernandez: founder and presidenft of , a financial planner. Former baseball Owns 42,000 shares. William Holly: founder, president and CEO of Holly Real a large commercial realestate firm. Foundingg member of and , where he's also on the Owns 90,000 shares. Leslie Rozencwaig: managing partnef of Rozencwaig, Nadel & Ferrero-Card law firm and a certified public Owns 40,000 shares. Jeffrey Scheck: VP of the , an investmentr company. A former director of and a certifiedspublic accountant. Owns 45,000 shares. Andres Vega: physicianh who leads AV Pain Consultants in Owns 44,000 shares.