NEWS - Banking & Finance

By Lou Phelps
SBJ Staff

Ever wonder how much money is deposited in Savannah area banks?  The answer is more than $11 billion as June 30, 2010.  Wonder how many banks are in business in our region?  The answer is 52, and that’s without counting all the credit unions and mortgage-only financial institutions and options.

But which bank or bank holding company has the largest marketshare of local deposits of the banks that operate in the twelve counties that make up the Coastal Georgia and Lowcountry area?  And, who’s growing, or appears to be in deep financial trouble?

Across the state of Georgia, the three largest banks - based on total assets and including only banks that were chartered in Georgia - are SunTrust Bank, United Community Bank and Synovus Bank. All three have branches in the greater Savannah area.

In South Carolina, the three largest banks, based on total assets and that there were chartered in that state, are Carolina First Bank, First Citizens Bank and Trust Company, Inc. of Columbia, SC. Carolina First and First Citizens both operate in Beaufort and/or Jasper counties, but not Trust Company, Inc.

Based on The Savannah Business Journal’s research for its annual “Book of Lists:Areas Largest Banks 2010,” (see page 15)  there was a significant change in market position among the top three banks in local deposits.

Bank of America dropped to third behind SunTrust Bank, with Wachovia/Wells Fargo holding on to the top position once again with more than $1.558 billion in deposits here.
SunTrust Bank now has $1.4 billion in deposits in the local region, with Bank of America dropping down to $1.295 billion in the 12 counties that make up the region. SunTrust is not without its troubles, reporting a loss of (-$185.9) million YTD as of June 30.

But, SunTrust’s numbers are actually improving, according to analysts. For the bank’s second quarter of April through June, SunTrust reported a $56 million loss versus a $229 million loss in the same quarter last year as the write downs for bad loans decrease percentage-wise, and with an improvement in non-interest income.  Taxable revenues grew 13.7% in the second quarter.

SunTrust’s non-interest income was $592 million, up 36% from the prior quarter as all service and fee-based revenues escalated, but overall income declined 11% year over year, mainly due to a fall in mortgage-related income, a dilemma all banks are facing.  Without writing mortgages, they’re not earning interest or income from selling off local mortgages.

The Top Banks
Savannah Bancorp’s The Savannah Bank has moved up significantly in local market share of deposits and is knocking at BB&T’s door for the position as the fourth largest bank in the region with the acquisition of First National Bank (FNB) on June 25, 2010.

The Savannah Bank acquired $252.5 million in assets and $231.9 million in local deposits from FNB, making The Savannah Bank now a “billon dollar bank,” based on total assets. The bank’s estimated total assets were $1,020 billion, with local deposits of $803 million, as of 6/30/2010.

John Helmken remains at the helm of Savannah Bancorp, the holding company for three banks: The Savannah Bank, Bryan Bank & Trust in Bryan County and Harbourside Community Bank in Beaufort County.

When all local deposits are added together for the three, Savannah Bancorp has a total of more than $1.70 billion, making it larger than BB&T in local market share.
Darby Bank showed growth in total deposits this year over 2009, but continues to struggle under a sea of bad real estate loans.  A new management team was brought in in 2009 to reverse troubling profitability numbers and work with the FDIC.

However, on Dec. 18, 2009, the FDIC issued a Darby a consent order. President Ray Fisher announced a three-year strategic plan to improve the bank’s performance, but numbers through the first two quarters of 2010 ending 6/30/2010 appear grave.

The bank has reported a (-$6.7) loss year to date due to provisions for bad loans.  Darby has more than $625 million in deposits in Toombs County, the leading bank in that area, which does not show on the BOL information on page 15.

The consolidate bank holding company Synovus, Inc. is also larger than BB&T in the region, with $ 1.192 billion in local deposits. Synovus includes Sea Island Bank, The Coastal Bank of Georgia and it’s South Carolina unit now know as NBSC/Synovus, formerly The National Bank of South Carolina. But each of the banks is presented separately on the Book of Lists, similar to Savannah Bancorp.

2010 Bank Closures
One can ‘t talk about banking in the current economy, without addressing the region’s three bank closures within the past three months.

One of the biggest surprises for those who don’t make their living as a banker, was the failure of First National Bank. The bank was founded by Hays McMath, a long-time bank executive and community leader, and the board of directors included some of Savannah’s most prominent citizens. The Savannah Bank paid a 10% premium to acquire the assets from the FDIC.

Also closed this year was Beach First National Bank, founded in Myrtle Beach, SC. in 1996, and closed by the FDIC on April 9, 2010. Its $580 million in assets were purchased by the Bank of North Carolina. It was a familiar story -  failing real estate loans.

Woodlands Bank, with eight offices in Savannah, Bluffton and Beaufort, was closed on Friday, July 16, by the Office of Thrift Supervision. Subsequently, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was named Receiver.

All deposit accounts, excluding certain brokered deposits, were transferred to Bank of the Ozarks, Little Rock, AR.

As of March 31, 2010, Woodlands Bank had approximately $376.2 million in total assets and $355.3 million in total deposits.

New Bank CEO’s in the Region
In June, Tommy Bouchette was named market president of BNC – the Bank of North Carolina – to oversee the banking company’s efforts in South Carolina. BNC purchased the assets of the failed Beach First National Bank that had two offices in Hilton Head Island. Both branches on William Hilton Pkwy at Pineland Station and The Village at Wexford have remained open.

Bouchette was a founder of SunBank, and has most recently served as a key executive with South Carolina Bank and Trust which merged with SunBank back in 2005.

On July 28, 2010, Synovus, the Columbus, Georgia-based bank holding company, announced the promotion of Frederick L. Green to Vice Chairman of Synovus. Green formerly served as Chairman, President and CEO of Synovus affiliate National Bank of South Carolina (NBSC) for six years. He will remain as Chairman of the Board for NBSC. Richard E. Anthony, who was recently elected Synovus President and COO after holding the position of Vice Chairman for eight years.
Concurrently, Synovus announced the promotion of Charles “Chuck” Garnett to President and CEO at NBSC.

At First Chatham Bank, headquartered in Savannah, Mike Viers stepped down as president this year, and Brian Foster, chairman of the board, assumed the title of CEO, with William M. Austin, Jr. as the Chief Operating Officer. Austin has over 42 years experience in personnel and operations, with 32 years experience in Chatham County.
In general, there was stability this year in bank presidents.

The Worst Income Statements
What a difference a year makes.  Last year when the SBJ’s research was completed on the area’s largest banks, SunTrust Bank was showing $320 million in YTD income.   Now, as of June 30, 2010, the bank is showing a YTD loss of -$185.9 million. Reason?  The bank has had to take an $820.6 million dollar write down as a provision for bad debts and loans this year.

It’s a similar picture for others.  Carolina First Bank is reporting a ($ 78.9) million loss YTD due to a provision for bad or questionable loans of more than $ 95 million.  But the bank has more than $12 billion in total assets as of June 30, 2010.

The consolidated income statement for Synovus, Inc. also shows problems.  The bank holding company is made up of Sea Island Bank, The Coastal Bank of Georgia – one of the dominate banks in the Brunswick, GA. market – and the former National Bank of South Carolina, now called NBSC/Synovus.

While there are YTD losses for the two Coastal Georgia banking units, they pale in comparison to the (-$102.3) million loss that NBSC is reporting YTD June 30, 2010. 
Synovus announced a number of key changes in top leadership in July. (NBSC is not on the SBJ “Book of Lists” on page 15 Because it has only $97 million in deposits in the local market.)

Banks in the 12 Counties of Coastal GA and the Lowcountry*

Ameris Bank
Atlantic Bank & Trust
Atlantic Community Bank
Atlantic Coast Bank
Atlantic National Bank
Atlantic Southern Bank
Bank of America
Bank Meridian
Bank of Newington
BB&T
Bryan Bank & Trust (Savannah Bancorp.)
Capital City Bank & Trust
Carolina First
Carver State Bank
Citizens Bank of Bulloch County
Citizens Bank of Effingham
Citizens State Bank
Coastal Bank of Georgia (Synovus)
Coastal States Bank
Colony Bank
Darby Bank & Trust Co.
Farmers & Merchants Bank
First Bank of Coastal Georgia
First National Bank of Nassau County
First Southern National Bank
First Chatham Bank
First Citizens Bank & Trust
First Federal Savings & Loan
First Georgia Banking Co.
First Southern National Bank
Georgia Bank & Trust Company
Glennville Bank
Harbourside Community Bank (Savannah Bancorp.)
Heritage Bank of the South
Liberty Savings Bank
Lowcountry National Bank
NBSC (Synovus)
Oglethorpe Bank
Park Avenue Bank
Palmetto State Bank
Queensborough National Bank & Trust Co.
Region’s Bank
Sea Island Bank (Synovus)
South Carolina Bank & Trust
South Georgia Bank??
Southeastern Bank
SunTrust Bank
The Coastal Bank
The Heritage Bank
The Savannah Bank (Savannah Bancorp.)
United Community Bank
Wells Fargo/Wachovia

* The Savannah Business Journal defines Coastal Georgia and the Lowcountry as Chatham, Effingham, Bryan, Bulloch, Screven, Liberty, Long, McIntosh, Glynn, Camden, Beaufort and Jasper counties based on a combination of the State of Georgia regional divisions and national economic definitions of the Savannah metro area.