by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Gil Pomar loves being a banker, and he loves his Florida Gators.
The Jacksonville Bank President and CEO travels to many of the University of Florida basketball games, including Monday’s BCS National Championship in Glendale, Ariz. Pomar has remained a loyal fan since graduating from UF in 1982 with a degree in finance.
To say the Pomars are big-time Gators would be an understatement. Pomar’s father is a 1955 graduate of UF and a member of the executive committee of the Bull Gators board of directors.
“He has missed less than five games since he graduated,” said Pomar.
To call The Jacksonville Bank a small, community bank would be an understatement, too. Started in May 1999, the bank has steadily grown. Today, there are five branches including the Downtown anchor branch at the corner of Laura and Forsyth streets. Pomar has been president and CEO since day one.
“We are the second-largest bank in Jacksonville and the largest publicly-traded bank [in Jacksonville],” said Pomar, who is a Jacksonville native. He was born in St. Vincent’s Hospital and graduated from Bolles.
“We have done it one deal at a time, one customer at a time, one family at a time and one business at a time,” he said. “We have $325 million worth of assets. We grew over $1 million a week last year on both sides of the balance sheet. That’s net.”
Pomar worked for First Union – now Wachovia – before moving to The Jacksonville Bank. At the time, there wasn’t an office, a branch or a single customer. What the organizers did know was they wanted to be Downtown.
“We are proud to be based in Downtown Jacksonville,” he said. “Jacksonville’s community bank should be based in Downtown.”