The Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Banking, has regulatory and supervisory authority over state-chartered financial institutions in Florida, including commercial banks and nondeposit trust companies, credit unions, savings associations, offices of foreign banks operating in Florida, and money transmitters. The Florida Department of Financial Services also has regulatory and supervisory authority over mortgage brokers and mortgage lenders, consumer finance companies, motor vehicle sales finance companies, commercial and consumer debt collection agencies, cemeteries, and abandoned property.
As of late 2002, there were 231 insured banks in Florida. Assets of Florida's banks as of September 2002 totaled $39 billion.
International banking grew in Florida during the late 1970s and early 1980s with the establishment of the Edge Act banks in Miami. Located close to Central and South America, with a bilingual population, Florida (and especially Miami) has become a Latin America banking center. Many banks in Miami have headquarters outside Florida and engage exclusively in international banking. At the end of 1999, there were a total of 102 international banking offices in Florida, including state-licensed international bank agencies, foreign representative offices, and administrative offices, with assets of over $44 billion in 1999. The largest of these included Barclays, Lloyds, and Dresdner banks. The largest Edge Act banks included HSBC, Citibank, and Banco Santander Central Hispano International.
Economic growth in Florida, though moderate in 2002, was above the national average, and performance of banks headquartered in Florida improved. Florida's banks experienced higher net interest margins (NIMs) (the difference between the lower rates offered to savers and the higher rates charged on loans) and increased profitability. Community bank loan portfolios grew 22% as of the year ending September 2002; the majority of the increase occurred in commercial real estate (CRE) loans.