New South Carolina bank raises additional capital

Beacon Community Bank in Charleston, S.C., has raised $34.1 million in capital.

The $36 million-asset bank, which opened in January, completed a private placement this month, according to a press release from its financial adviser, Community Capital Advisors. Community Capital did not disclose how the bank plans to use the proceeds.

Beacon was established by veteran community bankers from the Carolinas, including Brooks Melton, formerly of CommunityOne Bancorp in Charlotte, N.C., and Tommy Baker, a former director of Southcoast Community Bank in Mount Pleasant, S.C.

“I am very proud to have raised capital for the first bank charter in South Carolina in 10 years,” Shaun Dalton, a managing director at Community Capital Advisors, said in the release. Beacon "will fill a void in the marketplace left behind by a wave of M&A activity.”

De novo activity has accelerated as a result of a rebounding economy and optimism that regulations will be eased. Investor groups have filed de novo applications in 14 states and the District of Columbia since 2016.

Beacon was the first de novo to open in Charleston since Atlantic Bank & Trust in February 2007. Atlantic failed in June 2011; First Citizens Bank in Columbia, S.C., took over some of the bank's assets.

Beacon, which has a single branch in downtown Charleston, focuses on small business, entrepreneurs, real estate developers and retail customers.

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De novo institutions Community banking Capital markets M&A South Carolina
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