Big Ga. Banks Win Branching Battle

Georgia Gov. Zell Miller is expected to sign a bill that will permit banks to branch statewide 1998, ending a hard-fought battle within the industry.

On Friday, the state's Senate approved the branching bill by a vote of 40 to 12. The House passed the bill on Thursday.

The bill, supported by the Georgia Bankers Association, will allow state banks to branch into up to three new counties a year for two years, starting in July. Full statewide branching would take effect in July 1998

"The governor will sign the bill," his spokesman said.

Georgia has been one of a handful of states continuing to restrict statewide branching.

"It had been an issue that the time had come to pass," said Joe Brannen, president of the Georgia Bankers Association. "It's now time to move forward."

The Community Bankers Association of Georgia had opposed the bill.

"We thought the other system was good and that's what we supported," said the group's current president, Danny Brinks, also president of Bank of Upson in Thomaston.

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