On June 17, South State Corporation and Southeastern Bank Financial Corporation announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement that will combine these two banking institutions to create a “premier franchise in the Carolinas and Georgia.” The merger agreement was unanimously approved by the board of directors of each company, and the conversion is scheduled to occur the first quarter of 2017. 

While these types of mergers tend to make banking customers and investors feel uncertain about future business, Ron Thigpen, President and Chief Operating Officer of Southeastern Bank Financial Corp. said it’s business as usual and nothing formal will take place until January of 2017.

According to Thigpen, Southeastern is headquartered in Augusta and is the holding company for Georgia Bank and Trust Company of Augusta and also operates as Southern Bank & Trust in Aiken County, S.C. Augusta is the second largest MSA in Georgia and Georgia Bank & Trust is the largest bank headquartered in the Augusta metro market and is ranked second in market share.

South State Corporation is the largest bank holding company headquartered in South Carolina, and South State Bank has served local communities in 24 South Carolina counties, 13 Georgia counties and four North Carolina counties for more than 80 years.

Thigpen said combining the two organizations that have a similar culture and the same four lines of business will allow for all 12 banking branches to remain open.

“Over time in 2017, customers will see a change in the name to South State Bank while most of the other changes that will take place in organization will be transparent to customers,” he said. “The same people will remain here in the Augusta and Aiken market, so the folks that have taken care of our customers and community for that past 29 years will still be here.”

He added that the merger also provides customers with more advantages and access. 

“We will now be able to have a higher lending limit and take care of larger clients that we couldn’t previously accommodate,” he said. “And customers will have access to 133 branches in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. South State Bank has a large presence on the East Coast from Savannah to Charleston and Myrtle Beach as well as a presence up through Columbia … and northern Georgia. .. The growth will offer added convenience to our customers.” 

And Thigpen wants to remind customers that the transaction will not close until January 2017 and the name change will be some time beyond that. 

“So for now, it’s business as usual as we continue to take care of customers and giving them great service as always, and after the transaction, we’ll keep doing that as well.”