When Dennis Murphy and a group of Sarasota business leaders started Gulfside Bank in 2018, they planned how they would eventually sell it. The idea was to build a strong loan book and loyal deposits, the kind of bank other institutions would want to buy. Selling to a credit union probably wasn’t what they had in mind.
That’s where Gulfside has ended up. On Oct. 19, Dearborn, Michigan-based DFCU Financial, which has $8.04 billion in assets, announced it plans to acquire the bank. Both boards approved the deal unanimously. If regulators sign off, it could close in the second half of 2027.
From banking critic to credit union partner
The deal is a little ironic for Murphy. A banker since 2002, he served on the Florida Bankers Association board and its government relations council. That group has long argued that credit unions compete unfairly because, as nonprofit cooperatives, they are exempt from certain taxes.
Murphy now says the market has changed. Over the past five years, he says, the buyers for community banks have shifted. “Credit unions are the prevalent buyer of banks our size,” he told the Business Observer.
He gave several reasons. Credit unions tend to offer more on price. As member-owned institutions, they aren’t bound by the same earn-back calculations many banks use. And they usually treat an acquired bank as a platform to grow, keeping its employees. Bank buyers, by contrast, sometimes buy defensively and cut staff.
The numbers back him up. Florida has seen about 20 deals since 2015 in which a credit union bought all or part of a bank, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
A payoff for local investors
Gulfside filled a gap when it opened in November 2018. Few new community banks had started in Florida in the decade after the 2008-09 recession, when regulators tightened requirements. Local demand was strong, and the bank raised $23.5 million from 258 founding shareholders in two months. Through June 30, it had grown to nearly $350 million in assets and almost $300 million in deposits.
Neither side would disclose the purchase price. Murphy said the original shareholders have tripled their investment and are expected to receive $30 a share. For comparison, DFCU paid $94 million in 2023 for Tampa’s First Citrus Bank, which had $689 million in assets at the time.
People first, then geography
The deal grew out of an old connection. Murphy and DFCU CEO Ryan Goldberg worked together at AmSouth in the early 2000s. They started talking again about two years ago, first about their careers and the industry. When Gulfside reached a strategic turning point a few months ago, those talks became deal talks.
Goldberg says every DFCU acquisition starts with the people. Loan quality, profitability, demographics and location all have to work. But he says a deal won’t close unless the two leadership teams agree on what they can build together. Murphy will stay on as DFCU’s Sarasota/Manatee area president.
Next comes geography. DFCU wants to be in five of Florida’s seven largest metro areas, leaving out Miami and Jacksonville. Sarasota-Manatee would be its fourth. It fills the gap along I-75 between DFCU’s branches in Tampa Bay and Naples-Fort Myers. The credit union has done some business in Sarasota but has never had a branch there.
Florida now makes up about 20% to 25% of DFCU’s assets. Goldberg says rising living costs and other pressures haven’t dampened his view of the state. He sees those challenges as a reason to execute better, not to pull back.
DFCU’s Florida acquisitions
- First Citrus Bank, Tampa: January 2023, $94 million
- MidWestOne Bank’s Florida operations (Naples-Marco Island and Cape Coral-Fort Myers): June 2024, $160 million
- Winter Park National Bank: November 2025
- Gulfside Bank, Sarasota: announced October 2026, pending
