Vista Bank
A Texas bank that entered the South Florida market in 2023 is seeking to expand in both states.
The Dallas-based Vista Bank is eyeing the
“We are continuing to focus on expansion in Florida and Texas,” Dan Sheehan, president of Vista Bankshares, told American Banker. “We’ve got a dual-pronged approach, both organically and by acquisition.”
Vista Bancshares
Sheehan, who joined Vista in 2023 to oversee its new presence in Florida, has deep roots in the state. He co-founded the Coral Gables-based Professional Bank in 2008 and served as chairman and CEO of the bank and its parent, Professional Holding Company,
The Stuart, Florida-based Seacoast Bank acquired Professional in 2023. Leading up to its sale, though, the company enjoyed several years of organic growth, increasing in asset size from $385 million at the end of 2016 to $2.6 billion six years later, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
“It wasn’t through acquisition,” Sheehan said. “We were investing in teams, onboarding teams, creating a platform where high-performing teams wanted to work.”
“It’s a strategy we will continue to pursue at Vista,” Sheehan said.
Vista hasn’t ruled out doing deals in Florida, but consolidation has reduced the number of targets. Meanwhile, the emergence of
Three credit unions have announced deals to acquire Florida community banks over the past year. The most recent came in April, when the $8.6 billion-asset Lakeland, Florida-based MidFlorida Credit Union said it would acquire the $924 million-asset Prime Meridian Bank in Tallahassee.
Banking trade groups have voiced loud objections to the practice of tax-exempt credit unions acquiring banks, but the opposition has done little to slow the pace of activity. More than 20 banks announced sales to credit unions in 2024 and the trend has continued this year.
Vista operates a branch in Florida’s Palm Beach Gardens. The bank has mulled the possibility of opening more, “but we want to get the right teams before we make a commitment or sign a lease,” Sheehan said. “We’re talking to some folks. We just want to make sure we’ve got the right team to represent us, carry that flag in those markets.”
The situation is different in Texas, where even after years of consolidation, there are still more than 400 locally based banks. Vista, which operates 10 branches in the Lone Star State, believes further consolidation is a given, and it’s positioning itself to be a buyer.
“The Texas market is still highly fragmented,” Sheehan said. “Chances are, there’s going to be more opportunity for deals. We think that when those opportunities present themselves, we’re going to be in a pretty good position to take advantage.”
Indeed, last week, Vista said it had hired Bob Mahalik, a longtime executive with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, to serve as director of strategic initiatives and merger-and-acquisition advisor, a newly created position. Vista said in a statement that Mahalik’s hire “signals the deepening of the Vista M&A bench as it positions itself to lead the highly anticipated consolidation of Texas community banks.”
“Bob has got a great reputation throughout the banking community,” Sheehan said. “He’s got a unique view of the landscape given his history” at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
The privately held Vista reported net income totaling $27.8 million in 2024, up 6% from 2023. Sheehan said he expects earnings to remain strong in 2026. “Year-to-date, we’re still pretty bullish,” he said. “There’s nothing that I can observe today that would suggest things are going to be materially different than last year.”