Founded in 1920 by Latt Maxcy and a group of local businessmen, Citizens Bank & Trust has always been a family owned bank. John Maxcy, Latt’s brother, managed Citizens for nearly five decades and today Latt’s grandchildren continue the family tradition of careful decision making to carry the bank securely into the future.
For the first 78 years, Citizens Bank & Trust helped grow and develop the area around Frostproof, Florida. The original Frostproof office is still in use and remains a proud part of downtown Frostproof to this day. You can even drop by and see the first safe used for deposits over 90 years ago!
In 1998, Citizens expanded into the Lake Wales community with much success. Later that same year, a third office was opened in nearby Haines City. To meet growing customer demand, Citizens purchased the Lake Wales based American Bank & Trust during the summer of 2004. This acquisition provided additional Citizens offices in the local communities of Dundee, Indian Lake Estates and Winter Haven.
The Chalet Suzanne Road office in Lake Wales opened in April 2005, and in March 2006 a grand opening was held for Citizens’ eighth office located in Auburndale. Our ninth office opened in July 2007 on Cypress Gardens Boulevard in Winter Haven. December 2007 saw offices ten and eleven open in Lakeland, and our Bartow office opened in February 2008, all in temporary space. We moved the Downtown Lakeland office to Citizens Bank & Trust Plaza on Lake Morton and the new Bartow office opened the end of April 2009. The permanent Lakeland Edgewood office opened in July 2009. In 2010 we consolidated our Indian Lake Estates office with the Lake Wales office and opened a new location in the Schalamar Creek Golf & Country Club’s clubhouse.
As Polk County’s oldest bank still in existence, Citizens continues to provide customers with high quality financial products and superior customer service. Stability, commitment, and conservative values are a few of the reasons Citizens Bank and Trust has thrived for over 90 years.