Climate First Bank is headquartered in SAINT PETERSBURG and is the 32nd largest bank in the state of Florida. It is also the 1,003rd largest bank in the nation. It was established in 2021 and as of March of 2025, it had grown to 96 employees at 3 locations. Climate First Bank's money market rates are 10X the national average, and it boasts an A+ health rating.
Opening A CD Is Smooth, But CSR Aid Needed At Maturity
I opened a 15-month Flex CD via their website and it went very smoothly. I had to complete my application in stages while transferring funds from a matured Ally CD to my local bank, which I planned to use as a linked external FI — and then a holiday weekend made me wait a couple of extra days for my transferred money to become "available" at the local bank. Climate First Bank's online application process was easy and all went well, with no delays; everything happened promptly. Good communication from bank personnel in answering my few questions, too. The day after I submitted my application with instructions for pulling funds from my local bank to fund the CD, my local bank notified me that the withdrawal had taken place. So far, so good.
I established an online customer account at the Climate First Bank website and submitted a secure message asking whether there was a way for me to set up the external linked bank for eventual use in case I decide to withdraw my money upon the CD's maturity if I happen t\o decide not to let the balance roll over into a new CD. I got a phone call from someone at Climate First Bank the next day, responding to my question — and he told me that (1) it might take up to 5 days for my transferred funds to appear in the CD account; and (2) if I want to withdraw my money once the CD matures, I will need to contact the bank for assistance in setting up an ACH transfer at that time. Currently, there is no way for me as the accountholder to establish a linked external account and initiate a transfer from the matured CD. I guess I can live with that, as I like the 5.34% APY on this CD, but given how well their online application process worked, I am disappointed that they do not also offer a direct way for me to set up a linked external account and withdraw the balance at maturity.
Mortgage Department Is A NIGHTMARE
I've had a ClimateFirst account for a while. Their customer service is great, and I've interacted with people from many departments. Their rates are excellent. Because we liked them so much and because we support their mission, we decided to get our mortgage through them.
HUGE MISTAKE.
The loan officer tried to pressure me into getting a loan ("You have to close this today or else I respectfully decline your business"--one day after I contacted him). Then he refused to give me paperwork showing the final interest rate, which I'm pretty sure is illegal. Then he forced us to sign a waiver which was actually optional, which again I'm pretty sure is illegal. Then he refused to answer many questions from us.
Finally we were sent to another loan officer. We were on a tight deadline for closing, but instead of sending all of her questions at once, she sent them in a drip over a period of a week. She sent multiple requests for payment to the assessor because she didn't understand how the system worked; thankfully, that company realized she had made a mistake, so we didn't have to pay for multiple assessments.
Then she sent the *WRONG LOAN AMOUNT* to the closing company. Because of her delays, we risked missing our closing.
Overall, the mortgage department at Climate First is a huge liability to the bank. The mortgage department risks tanking the bank's reputation. We were going to put our business account at Climate First, but there is absolutely no way we'll do that now.
This is a great bank that is dreadfully underserved by its mortgage office. Avoid, avoid, avoid.
Be Aware. They Use Chexsystems
Per the CS, they don't pull a credit report but for some reason they pull ChexSystems. Strange for a bank. You expect this from a CU, but not a bank.
Data as of Q1 2025
Learn why bank health mattersHealth Grade Components
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| FDIC Certificate # | 59257 |
| Year Established | 2021 |
| Employees | 96 |
| Primary Regulator | FDIC |
| Profit Margin | |
|---|---|
| Return on Assets - YTD | 0.47% |
| Return on Equity - YTD | 5.18% |
| Annual Interest Income | $16.2MM |
| Assets and Liabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Assets | Q1 2025vs Q1 2024 | $1.03B$612.7MM |
| Loans | Q1 2025vs Q1 2024 | $864.6MM$502.1MM |
| Deposits | Q1 2025vs Q1 2024 | $870.9MM$554.2MM |
| Equity Capital | Q1 2025vs Q1 2024 | $94.6MM$56.1MM |
| Loan Loss Allowance | Q1 2025vs Q1 2024 | $8.7MM$5.6MM |
| Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q1 2025vs Q1 2024 | $0$0 |
| Real Estate Owned | Q1 2025vs Q1 2024 | $0$0 |