TAMPA - NorthStar Bank has opened in downtown, bringing to life the hopes of call center entrepreneur John Sykes and other local luminaries in the city who wanted to start a well-run local bank that encourages business from minority and other customers who feel unwelcome at big banks.

NorthStar has opened its first branch in the sunny, square lobby adjacent to the cylindrical RiverGate Tower at the corner of Kennedy Boulevard and Ashley Drive in downtown Tampa. Other branches in the Bay area are planned over the next several years.

The bank will compete in a crowded field in Tampa, where big companies such as Bank of America and regional financial institutions such as the new Regions bank angle for customers.

The downtown branch opened Aug. 6, and so far customers have opened about 60 deposit accounts and several dozen loan and corporate accounts, bank President and CEO Monty Weigel said. Weigel estimated deposits currently top $2 million.

The bank has a deep bench of high profile business leaders behind it. Sykes is the founder of the global call center operator Sykes Enterprises. Other founders include Kiran Patel, one of Tampa's most prominent philanthropists who started and later sold WellCare Health Plans, now one of Tampa's largest publicly held companies. Marty Traber, a partner at the law firm Foley & Lardner; and Frank Sanchez, chief executive officer of Renaissance Steel and a former candidate for Tampa mayor, also helped launch NorthStar.

Several of the founders, who have invested millions of their own dollars to start the bank, said they wanted to launch a bank that would serve customers they say are neglected by big national banks or exploited by check-cashing services and payday loan outlets.

The bank chose this month to open after passing through a series of regulatory and technical hurdles. Just recently, the bank made operational the computer systems that handle cash transactions, credits, debits and loans.

'We just want to be a good solid, local bank,' Weigel said, 'and to be inclusive of everyone instead of exclusive. So what we've done is hired staff that mirrors our community, a very diverse staff.'

Employees are reaching out to a range of community groups and attending events to help show potential clients they can feel more comfortable and can come talk about their needs.

Within the next 12 months, Weigel said the bank hopes to open another location, likely on the west side of Tampa, and third location a year later.

Reporter Richard Mullins can be reached at (813) 259-7919 or rmullins@tampatrib.com.