Winter Haven-based CenterState Bank: Merger with South State ‘will keep us competitive’

“Winter Haven-based CenterState and South State, headquartered in Columbia, S.C., announced the all-stock merger valued at $3.2 billion in a Jan. 27 statement. If approved by regulators, the combined bank, which will take the South State Bank name, will be the eighth largest bank in the Southeast with a market value of about $6 billion and assets of $34 billion,” writes Kevin Bouffard of the Winter Haven News Chief. 

Bouffard spoke with Richardson Faculty Fellow Jim Parrino, an expert on mergers, about what this merger means for the community and industry.