During a lunch meeting in early 2016, Yle DeCicco, a commercial loan officer, planned to chat with Sanibel Captiva Community Bank President and CEO Craig Albert about banking. However, Albert was more interested in discussing DeCicco’s competitive swimming career. Despite this unexpected topic of conversation, they eventually discussed banking, and Albert offered DeCicco a job as a vice president and commercial loan officer. DeCicco accepted the position and has since been promoted several times. Now, after seven years, he is set to become the next president and CEO of SanCap.
Albert had originally planned to retire by the end of 2022 but postponed his retirement to June 30 due to Hurricane Ian’s impact on Sanibel, where he co-founded the bank in 2003. However, he is now retiring due to personal health reasons, including a brain tumor removal and treatment for atrial fibrillation. The board believes in DeCicco’s capabilities, and he will take over as the bank’s new leader during a time of change, as SanCap has $732 million in assets through Dec. 31, 2022, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data.
Meet the demand
Sanibel Captiva Community Bank, one of the few remaining locally-based community banks in Southwest Florida, has a dual push-and-pull strategy for growth. On one hand, the bank aims to support post-Hurricane Ian recovery efforts in Sanibel and Fort Myers areas by loaning more than $30 million for construction rehab and rebuild projects, lines of credit for condo and homeowners associations, and donating over six figures to community nonprofits. On the other hand, the bank maintains its slower, steady growth strategy to maintain higher profit and efficiency margins, despite the post-Ian demand in its core markets.
To further facilitate Ian recovery lending, SanCap recently raised an additional $6.6 million through a finalized stock offering for existing shareholders. The bank’s newly-appointed president and CEO-in-waiting, Kyle DeCicco, believes that winning and rebuilding the community is a fiduciary responsibility. He is confident that their internal push-and-pull strategy, combined with his competitive former college athlete mindset, can help the bank achieve its goals.
SanCap has consistently ranked among the top 2% best-performing community banks nationwide out of more than 4,400 banks with assets under $1 billion, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. DeCicco, known for his serious problem-solving and strategic thinking, mixed with boyish enthusiasm and an aw-shucks demeanor, has earned the confidence of people both inside and outside the bank. His former colleague, Brandon Box, Southwest Florida market president for Orlando-based Cogent Bank, praised DeCicco’s people skills and his ability to handle tough situations during their time together at IberiaBank a decade ago.
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