South Atlantic Bank Announces First Yearly Profit
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, January 26, 2012 – South Atlantic Bancshares, Inc., parent of South Atlantic Bank, today announced net income of $1,155,407 or $0.42 per diluted share for the year ended December 31, 2011, marking the bank’s first profitable year since its founding in 2007 and a 222% improvement over the $944,856 loss reported for the same period a year ago.
Net income for the three months ended December 31, 2011 was $358,366 or $0.13 per diluted share, representing the bank’s fourth consecutive quarterly profit.
“Several factors contributed to the bank’s improved financial performance in 2011,” said chairman of the board and chief executive officer K. Wayne Wicker. “The bank is in its fifth year of operation and is now a well-established presence in Myrtle Beach and Murrells Inlet, with significant gains in market share posted each year. This overall growth, when met with the success of strategies implemented to improve the net interest margin, control expenses, and maintain credit quality, yielded strong results.”
The bank’s net interest margin improved to 3.40% for the year ended December 31, 2011, up from the 2.97% reported for the same period a year ago. The improvement in the margin is due to an increase in the yields on interest earning assets and a decrease in interest costs for deposits, based on market conditions and the current low interest rate environment.
Moderate gains were reported in the balance sheet. Continued weak demand throughout the Grand Strand held loan growth to just 4.14% in 2011, with total loans of $162.9 million at December 31, 2010 compared to $169.6 million at December 31, 2011. Total deposits grew 10.74%, from $178.9 million at December 31, 2010 to $198.1 million at December 31, 2011. The bank’s deposit base continues to favor a strong mix of core accounts.
South Atlantic Bank’s credit quality remains strong with net charge-offs to total loans of 0.55% for the year ended December 31, 2011. While this percentage represents an increase over the same period a year ago, it primarily includes write downs made in the fourth quarter 2011 to reflect the current market value of collateral. As a vigilant guardian of its credit quality, the bank took this conservative action due to the continued decline in real estate values along the Grand Strand.
The bank’s capital ratios continue to exceed regulatory requirements. Total assets grew 12.11%, from $204.9 million at December 31, 2010, to $229.7 million at December 31, 2011.
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Staff Appointments Announced at South Atlantic Bank
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, January 25, 2012 – South Atlantic Bank has announced that three employees have taken on new roles within the bank’s loan operations function.
Karen M. Atwood Ervin, vice president, has been appointed to the new position of director of loan administration. Atwood Ervin began her banking career in 1994 and has more than 18 years of loan administration/operations experience with several local banks. She served as assistant vice president for commercial/construction loan administration for Carolina First Bank before joining South Atlantic Bank in September 2007 as vice president and director of loan operations. In her new position as director of loan administration, she is responsible for management of the platform systems for new consumer, commercial, and mortgage lending; compliance; and supervision of the loan administration staff. Atwood Ervin is a graduate of the South Carolina Bankers School (Columbia, South Carolina), the Robert Morris Associates Commercial Lending School (Greenville, North Carolina), and the American Bankers Association National Compliance School (Atlanta, Georgia). She is a resident of Myrtle Beach.
Leslie A. Wdowiak has been promoted to vice president and appointed to the new position of director of loan servicing. Wdowiak began her banking career in 1987, working with two New England area banks before relocating to South Carolina in 2005. In South Carolina, she served the former Coastal Federal Bank as group leader for commercial/consumer loans and the former Beach First National Bank as assistant vice president for loan operations before joining South Atlantic Bank in November 2007 as assistant vice president and loan operations manager. In her new position as director of loan servicing, she is responsible for management and maintenance of existing consumer, commercial, and mortgage loans; customer service; compliance; and supervision of the loan servicing staff. Wdowiak attended Keene State College (Keene, New Hampshire) and Franklin Pierce College (Rindge, New Hampshire). She is a graduate of the New England School of Banking and has completed the Stephen R. Covey “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” leadership training program. She resides in Surfside Beach.
Shirley Y. Kulcsar has been promoted to assistant vice president and appointed to the new position of loan administration specialist. Kulcsar began her banking career with Anchor Bank (now Carolina First) in 1994 as a teller and was promoted to customer service representative in August 1995. She continued in that role with Carolina First until May 2004 when she was promoted to loan assistant. In November 2007, she joined South Atlantic Bank as a personal banker at the Main Office, and then served in the same capacity at the Murrells Inlet office when it opened in November 2008. In June 2011, she was promoted to the management training program. In her new position as loan administration specialist, she will be responsible for the preparation of loan documents using the bank’s Compliance One software. A Surfside Beach native, Kulcsar is a graduate of Socastee High School. She resides in the Myrtle Beach area.
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South Atlantic Bank Announces Teller Appointment
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, January 18, 2012 – South Atlantic Bank has announced the appointment of Mandy Lischner as a teller at the bank’s Main Office at the corner of 29th Avenue North and Grissom Parkway.
A native of Little River, South Carolina, Lischner completed her high school education through Allendale Academy and is a graduate of the University of South Carolina, where she earned a bachelor of music degree with an emphasis in jazz studies. During her high school and college years, she held positions at the North Myrtle Beach Aquatic and Fitness Center, Beach Services, and the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store and Restaurant. |