Flying contrary to current stereotypes, two banks in Florida are operating profitable, respected businesses.

Since the financial crisis in 2008, banks have been the poster child for naughty, irresponsible business practices, but two banks in Southern Florida are proving that banks can not only prosper in today’s economic climate, but can do so with honestly and with respectability.

The banks, Intercontinental Bank and Broward Bank of Commerce, are the only banks in the entire Miami-Dade/Broward area to receive a five-star rating from BauerFinancial, and both accomplished that rating using similar business practices, according to the Miami Herald. Both operate from just one location, utilize a small staff, and operate a business plan based less on speculation and more on careful, conservative lending practices.

Intercontinental Bank was founded nine years ago, and it has been profitable every year of its existence. Of its 21 employees, only one has left in that nine years.

“We treat everyone as family,’’ said president and chief executive Philip Solarana.

The bank avoided the housing frenzy of the last decade, instead focusing on consumer and small business loans, and it has paid off: Intercontinental Bank currently has $143 million in assets and $16 million in capital.

“We have always worked as a conservative bank,’’ said senior vice president Felix Montanaro. “We have been able to avoid the present situation with the market.’’

Broward Bank of Commerce, interestingly, opened in Jan 2009, when Lehman Brother’s collapse could still be felt in the markets.

Keith Costello, the president and chief executive of the bank, said, “We started during the financial crisis, so we were raising the money for the bank in 2008, in a time when a lot of other banks were beginning to fail.’’

Today, Broward Bank of Commerce is also profitable, and has been for the last four quarters. It has 18 employees, is owned by 116 local investors, and currently sports $116 million in assets.

And ironically, because so many other banks were failing when the bank opened, the period was the ultimate learning opportunity for Costello and the bank’s other investors.

“We have been able to avoid a lot of the difficulties, because they were evident when we opened up,’’ Costello said. “We could learn from the mistakes of others.’’