On April 17, College Station-based American Momentum Bank announced that it is expanding its community association banking division. The bank launched its association banking division in 2016 and hired Heather Karamitsos to serve as senior vice president/director of association banking. Since then, Karamitsos and her team have established American Momentum Bank as one of the top financial institutions of choice for large residential property managers in Florida, where the bank also has a strong presence. To date, the division serves more than 1,400 association clients and $230 million of related deposits.
While the Community Association Institute ranks Florida as the second largest community association market in the country—with 48,500 community associations that account for more than $9.7 billion in deposits—there are currently more than 315,000 community associations that account for over $63 billion in deposits throughout the U.S.
“Florida has long been one of the most attractive states in the country for association banking, due to the large number of retirees and bi-coastal geography that create a perfect destination for condominium development and homeowner associations,” Karamitsos notes. “But our team has ample opportunity to bring private banking services that deliver to associations in other areas of the country where the big banks are missing the mark.”
American Momentum Bank’s association banking division plans to target Texas next. The Lone Star State has more than 21,000 community associations and $4 billion in related deposits. The team will focus on business development and hiring efforts in Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio. The expansion plans include hiring business development officers in Texas in 2024. The team will also hire operations specialists to support the division’s growth plans. In addition, the bank is actively exploring opportunities in Arizona, Oregon and Washington, as well as in the Northeast.
“Given the success American Momentum Bank has proven to date, we are confident we have the right personnel, operating model and software partners to offer our services in other major markets,” says Mike Collins, chief lending officer. “Our commitment remains to be one of the leading financial institutions of choice nationally for association banking clients.”
Established in 2006, American Momentum Bank has 18 full-service banking centers in Texas and nine full-service banking centers in Florida.
