May 28--MANATEE -- A new bank has cropped up on the Bradenton landscape with an eye toward opportunity as the real estate market mends itself.

New York-based Trustco Bank opened a new branch at 5858 Cortez Road W. on April 28.

The 105-year-old banking company, founded as Schenectady Trust Co., began opening branches in Florida in 2002.

"We have 39 branches at this point down there, concentrated around the greater Orlando area and down the West Coast," said Kevin T. Timmons, Trustco vice president and treasurer.

In addition to Bradenton, Trustco, a publicly-held bank (NASDAQ: TRST), also has branches in Sarasota, Venice and Osprey.

Timmons said the bank sees opportunity in the Bradenton area despite the bloodshed in the real estate market. The bank has historically had its main footprint in the Albany, N.Y. area, where home values have traditionally not fluctuated so much, Timmons said.

While that offered stability, Trustco, with $3.5 billion in total assets, began to look for growth opportunities, Timmons said.

"We kind of felt like we needed to move beyond our historical presence to find growth," Timmons said. "Obviously, things have changed a lot since 2002, but for us, our capital is very strong. We're a very liquid organization."

That doesn't mean the bank hasn't had its share of non-performing loans.

Trustco reported $41.7 million in non-performing loans for the first quarter compared to $17.2 million during the same period last year.

The bank reported net income of $6.4 million for the first quarter of this year.

Trustco now occupies a branch that formally housed a World Savings and Loan, which merged with Wachovia in 2007.

Timmons said Trustco adheres to strict underwriting standards for its loans and has a loan portfolio that is about 85 percent residential, with the remainder devoted to commercial real estate.

"We are really a traditional bank. We kind of do things the old-fashioned way," Timmons said.

"In terms of making mortgage loans we do a regular underwriting of the loan like all banks used to do 30 years ago. Which means we pull credit reports, we talk to you about where you work and where you have worked, whether you're moving from apartment to apartment every three months or you have some stability."

Also different from some banks, Trustco holds and manages its mortgages rather than selling them to a third party, Timmons said.

Trustco plans to continue its primary focus on residential mortgage growth in the local area, Timmons said.

"Ultimately, you could probably expect our business in Florida to be something like that," he said.

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