SouthCrest Wins Approval to Merge Its Four Banks into One

SouthCrest Financial Group (SCSG) in Peachtree City, Ga., has received regulatory approval to merge its four banks into a single charter operating under the name SouthCrest Bank.

The $560 million-asset company will consolidate the charters of SouthCrest Bank, First National Bank of Polk County, Bank of Chickamauga and Peachtree Bank, according to a Monday press release. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency will act as the new bank's regulator.

The move "provides us with the scalability to leverage technology" and "drastically reduces
our regulatory burden and administrative overhead, creating greater value for our shareholders," SouthCrest President and Chief Executive Kenneth Maloy said in the release.

The company expects to complete the legal consolidation by the end of the first quarter. Operational consolidation will be complete sometime during the third quarter.

SouthCrest expects its fourth-quarter earnings to reflect approximately $1 million in merger-related expenses.

SouthCrest recently completed a $17.5 million capital raise by selling stock to Castle Creek Capital and other institutional investors. The company plans to use proceeds from the sale for general corporate purposes, including the redemption of preferred shares it issued under to the Treasury Department under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.