Appalachian Bancshares Inc. in Ellijay, Ga., has received approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to open a branch in Dalton that would target the growing Hispanic population in Whitfield and Murray counties.
The Dalton branch would use the Banco Fuerza brand and would operate as a branch of the company's commercial bank subsidiary, Appalachian Community Bank.
The Hispanic population in the Dalton metropolitan statistical area increased 48% from 2000 to 2005, according to a report by the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia.
The Dalton area now has the third-largest Hispanic population of any MSA in the state, the report said.
"The rising growth and financial strength of the Hispanic population, an underserved segment of the banking market, gives us new and exciting opportunities to leverage our … service-oriented approach to community banking," Tracy R. Newton, the chief executive at the $827 million-asset Appalachian Bancshares, said in a press release Monday.
Gary Middleton, who was recently appointed regional president of Whitfield and Murray counties, will oversee the operations of the Dalton branch, the parent company said.
