North Carolina de novo receives FDIC approval

The group hoping to form a bank in Monroe, N.C., has received the thumbs-up from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

American Bank & Trust, which submitted an application for deposit insurance in August, received the FDIC's approval on Feb. 6. The North Carolina Banking Commission approved an application from the group in November.

The group now must raise $20 million in order to open.

American Bank hopes to be North Carolina’s first new bank since the financial crisis. Its headquarters would be about 30 miles outside of downtown Charlotte.

Randy Adcock, a former commercial lender with F.N.B. Corp. and American Community Bank, is expected to serve as the new bank’s CEO. Jennifer Wendell Harris, former chief financial officer of Horry County State Bank in South Carolina, is expected to be CFO of American Bank.

Randy Helton, a former CEO at American Community Bancshares in Monroe, is advising the de novo’s organizers.

Community Bank of the Carolinas in Winston-Salem, N.C., also received conditional FDIC approval on Dec. 3 and hopes to open in the spring after raising $25 million.

Two other groups had hoped to open new banks in the state. Spirit Community Bank in Statesville and Dogwood State Bank in Raleigh withdrew their charter applications late last year. Spirit faced troubles raising its initial capital, and Dogwood decided to recapitalize an existing bank.

Blue Ridge Bank, which had planned to start a separately chartered bank in Greensboro, opened an office under its existing charter rather than pursuing a de novo.

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De novo institutions Community banking North Carolina
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