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Several institutions in one of the nation's hardest-hit banking markets have shed enforcement actions, or have hired new leaders, as they attempt to stage comebacks.
September 27 -
Robert Braswell, Georgia's banking commissioner, has learned a lot after seeing 74 banks fail in his state since 2008. He remains cautious about 2012 as his team emphasizes more risk control and corporate governance at the banks that remain.
January 9 -
The $1 billion-asset Charter said in a press release Thursday that it will pay $58.8 million, or $20.50 a share for the $369 million-asset parent of Community Bank of the South.
December 3
It's a bank deal that crosses party lines.
Roy Barnes, a former Democratic governor of Georgia, and his brother have agreed to buy WestSide Bank in Hiram, Ga., for $3 million, according to regulatory documents.
The $117 million-asset WestSide's board includes former U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Ga., and Glenn Richardson, a former Republican speaker of Georgia's House of Representatives.
Barnes and his brother, Ray, are planning to buy about 2 million WestSide shares for $1.50 each. WestSide's stock currently has a book value of $2.72 a share.
Application documents do not indicate the current owners of WestSide's stock. Calls to the Barnes brothers and to WestSide were not immediately returned.
The deal has several conditions, including WestSide's purchase of a block of outstanding common stock to preserve the benefits of a net operating loss tax carryforward.
Roy Barnes, a lawyer who served as Georgia's governor from 1999 to 2003, and his brother submitted an application to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Nov. 20. Ray Barnes would become WestSide's chairman if the deal closes.
Gingrey, a physician, served in Congress from 2003 to 2015. Richardson was Georgia's House Speaker from 2005 to 2010; he was the first Republican to serve in that post since Reconstruction.
WestSide's president and chief executive, Ford Thigpen, was previously CEO of Georgia State Bank from 2004 to 2008.
