Palmetto Banker Fall 2016 by SCBA

PALMETTO BANKER FALL ISSUE 2016-4

SOUTH CAROLINA BANKERS ASSOCIATION

LONGTIME BANKING COMMISSIONER LOUIE JACOBS RETIRES WOMEN IN BANKING SYMPOSIUM PROVES A SUCCESS AGAIN DARLINGTON GROUP RESTORES OLD-TIME LAMAR BANK SIGN

SCBA YOUNG BANKERS RAISE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS FOR STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS

Contents 2009 Park Street, Post Office Box 1483 Columbia, S.C., 29202-1483 Phone: 803.779.0850; Fax: 803.779.0890 Web: www.scbankers.org Chairman Robert R. Hill, Jr. South State Bank, Columbia Chairman-Elect R. Thornwell Dunlap, III Countybank, Greenwood First Vice Chairman David L. Morrow CresCom Bank, Charleston Treasurer Samuel L. “Sam” Erwin United Community Bank, Greenville Immediate Past Chairman David M. Lominack TD Bank, N.A., Greenville SCBA Staff President and CEO Fred L. Green, III Execu ve Vice President, CFO/BankPAC Treasurer Donna S. Taylor Senior Vice President, Conven ons/Conferences E. Anne Gillespie Senior Vice President, SCBA Services, Inc./ South Carolina Bankers School Carolyn E. Laffi e

Louie Jacobs Re res a er more than 45 Years with State, Page 4

First Reliance Helps Local Charity A er Burglary, Page 26

President’s Message

A Look Back at the Young Bankers Golf Tournament

6-7

2016 Women in Banking Symposium a Success

8-9

Savings Bank Industry Celebrates 200 Years in U.S.

Darlington Organiza on Restores Lamar Bank Sign

Execu ve News

Bank News

Personal Transac ons

16-17

SCBA Boasts Strong Fall Schedule of Events

Senior Vice President & Counsel A. O’Neil “Neil” Rashley, Jr., Esq.

New CECL Standards Will Require Change

Director, Adver sing & IT M. Caroline Sheorn

Get Smart About Credit Day a Na onwide Success

Administra ve Assistant Bonnie E. Nelson

The Challenge of Ac vist Shareholders

New Associate Members

Dropped Associate Members

Good Samaritans

Mobile Deposit Growing in Popularity

Calendar

Director, Marke ng and Communica ons; Editor, Palme o Banker R. Kevin Dietrich The Palme o Banker is a publica on of the South Carolina Bankers Associa on. The magazine exists to serve its members by communica ng news of interest, educa on and SCBA ac vi es. Items from members are welcome, however the editor reserves the right to refuse copy. With the excep on of oﬃcial announcements, the SCBA disclaims responsibility for opinions expressed and statements made in ar cles published in the Palme o Banker.

Cover: Wes Bryant of South State Bank tees oﬀ during the 2016 Young Bankers Scholarship Golf Tournament at Columbia Country Club.

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President’s Message

Good Work of S.C. Bankers Evident in Myriad Areas

ore evidence of the good work of South Carolina bankers was seen in the recently released FDIC Na onal Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households. According to the survey, the percentage of unbanked South Carolinians fell to its lowest level since the FDIC began tracking the data during the last decade. Some 8.9 percent of Palme o State households were classified as unbanked. That’s down from 10.5 percent in 2013, or a drop of more than 15 percent. The FDIC first conducted the survey in 2009, and does so every other year. At the same me, the percentage of underbanked South Carolinians fell to 23.4 Green percent from 25.6 percent, according to the FDIC. This is just another indica on of the successful eﬀorts that South Carolina bankers have made to reach out to all segments of society. Many of our member ins tu ons have implemented programs and plans specifically designed to assist the unbanked and underbanked, recognizing the importance of helping those groups. Among surrounding states, South Carolina fared well. While the FDIC didn’t provide regional breakdowns, the Palme o State performed be er than nearly all other Southern states in terms of reducing its percentage of unbanked and underbanked. South Carolina’s decrease was also sharper than that of the na onal average, which was 9 percent. I can’t help but believe that there is a direct correla on between the eﬀorts of the South Carolina Bankers Associaon and the most recent ABA survey results.

For many years, our Young Bankers Division has included financial literacy as one of its key ini a ves. Between 2013 and 2015, South Carolina bankers, par cularly those involved in the Young Bankers Division, touched nearly 200,000 South Carolinians through their financial literacy outreach efforts. Results like the ones touted in the ABA survey demonstrate that we’re making a tangible difference in the lives of our state residents. Reducing the number of unbanked and underbanked means more than just improving a South Carolina sta s c. For those who have begun or renewed a rela onship with a bank, it means safety, security and an improved quality of life. It enables individuals to avoid the costs and poten al pi alls associated with predatory lenders. Financial literacy is just one of the many areas where South Carolina bankers have long worked to be er the communi es they serve. Palme o State bankers donate millions of dollars annually, provide hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours and are involved in thousands of charitable projects. I doubt there’s a community organizaon in the state without a banker on its board or ac ng as a volunteer in some capacity. For example, just a short me ago I was invited to speak to a Rotary Club in Lexington and discovered that its membership included nearly a dozen bankers. And when specific crises strike, bankers are at the forefront of relief efforts, whether it’s ge ng out front and helping with relief efforts or contributing funds to ensure that rebuilding can proceed. For example, banks gave hundreds of thousands of dollars recently to assist those impacted by Hurricane Ma hew, just as they gave hundreds of thou-

sands a year ago following the severe flooding that struck many parts of the state. Banks also donated more than $500,000 in the wake of the appalling shoo ngs last year at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, to support vic ms’ families, the Charleston community and the ministry programs of the late Rev. Clementa Pinckney, a state senator who was killed in the senseless tragedy. Closer to home, the Bankers Associaon con nues to work to bolster educaon: this year the Associa on awarded

Every weekday morning, 25,000 bankers across the state set out with the goal of accomplishing what’s in the best interest of their customers, their communi es and their ins tu ons. nearly $60,000 in scholarships to rising junior and senior college students, and over the past two years, the SCBA has awarded nearly $100,000 in scholarships to the children of employees of SCBA-member banks. Every weekday morning, 25,000 bankers across the state set out with the goal of accomplishing what’s in the best interest of their customers, their communi es and their ins tu ons. While we hope the general popula on occasionally takes no ce of the banking industry’s contribu ons to our state, we don’t do what we do for accolades or praise, but to improve the quality of life of families, friends and neighbors, and the communi es we serve. (Fred L. Green is president and chief execu ve oﬃcer of the South Carolina Bankers Associa on.) 3

Feature

After 25 Years, Jacobs Retires as Bank Commissioner Kevin Dietrich Palme o Banker Editor

ouie Jacobs is a throwback. Upon gradua ng from the University of South Carolina in 1970, he took a job with the State Board of Financial Ins tu ons and remained there un l re ring this past October, working his way up from entry-level bank examiner to become the longest-tenured bank commissioner in the country. He saw numerous economic swells and troughs, ranging from the mid1970s downturn induced by rising oil prices to the economic expansion of the 1990s to the Great Recession of the last decade. Through it all, Jacobs remained extremely adaptable and remained abreast of changes in banking as the industry became more compe ve and regulated. “Being able to adapt and learn is the nature of the business,” said Renee Dzek, who worked with Jacobs as a review examiner. “Louie knew if you didn’t adapt, you weren’t going to survive.” Among changes Jacobs witnessed during his tenure: • The rise of interstate banking and the incursion of large out-of-state banks into South Carolina; • The strong growth of nearly all banks in the state as South Carolina’s popula on has swelled over the past half century; and • The recent dearth of de novos. “Louie was a great mentor and we learned so much from him,” said interim Banking Commissioner Kathy Bickham. “We need to follow his lead, and con nue to grow in our knowledge and understanding of what is an evolving industry.” Jacobs was many things as a banking commissioner: he iden fied the evolu on the industry was undergoing through the 1990s and into the 21st century, par cularly changes brought on by enhanced government regula ons; he understood the need to ensure that

Louie Jacobs, right, with Enterprise Bank of S.C. execu ves Gene Varn, middle, and Bill Varn at the SCBA Legisla ve Recep on last January.

state banks had the same regulatory advantages as na onal banks; and he recognized the necessity of staying in close contact with bankers, to learn what trends and issues were impac ng their ability to remain vibrant and successful. “Louie’s knowledge of banking is second to none in South Carolina,” said Fleetwood Hassell, chief execu ve oﬃcer of the Bank of South Carolina in Charleston. “He’s going to be missed. The next commissioner of banking is going to have some big shoes to fill.” Yet you wouldn’t have guessed Jacobs’ prowess in financial circles from a chance mee ng or while trying to gath-

‘Louie knew if you didn’t adapt, you weren’t going to survive.’ –Renee Dzek Review Examiner State Board of Financial Ins tu ons

er informa on on him from afar. He was likely the only banking commissioner in the country who, when you googled his name, didn’t have his photograph on the Internet, despite being in the posion for a quarter century. “Louie was always so -spoken, but very friendly, knowledgeable and accessible on banking issues,” said SCBA President and CEO Fred Green, whose first dealings with Jacobs came in the early 1990s when Green took on a senior management role with the Na onal Bank of South Carolina. “Even though we were a na onal bank, Louie was always very interested in what issues we were dealing with, and how those issues could aﬀect and might benefit state banks,” Green said. “In my role with the SCBA, I found Louie was always willing to make administra ve changes on issues where state banks were disadvantaged compared to na onal banks, which helped ensure a level playing field,” he added. In the Beginning It is likely Jacobs, a na ve of Georgetown County, didn’t aspire to become

banking commissioner when he joined the State Board of Financial Ins tu ons a er finishing at USC with a bachelor’s degree in business administra on. He began as a rookie bank examiner, then worked his way up to bank examiner II and bank examiner III. He later became a review examiner and in the summer of 1987 was named assistant banking commissioner. Blake Gibbons, now president of The Ci zens Bank in Olanta, went to work for the State Board of Financial Ins tuons a couple of years a er Jacobs, and the pair struck up a friendship that went beyond the oﬃce. “Louie is a smart guy with a lot of common sense,” he said. “He could be stern when he needed to be, but he always had the interest of the community bank at heart. “If he could help you, that’s what he wanted to do. If there was a way he could give advice, he was always interested in trying to find a way to do that,” Gibbons added. “He was always a friend to the community banker.” One of Jacob’s advantages, according to Gibbons, was that he’d spent the first half of his career as an outside bank examiner. His travels le him well acquainted with both the banks and the bankers of the state. “He knew all the bankers and he knew what kind of opera ons they ran,” Gibbons said. “His knowledge of the state’s bankers was thorough – he knew them on the personal basis because he had examined every one of their banks at one point or another.” Further, Jacobs had a solid understanding of the mission of the many South Carolina banks serving rural communies. “He appreciated their mission, as well as the mission of banks in more urban areas,” Gibbons said. “Louie knew that both had a role to play, and understood their importance in the overall scheme.” Gibbons, who le the State Board of Financial Ins tu ons a er seven years to go to work for The Ci zens Bank and would later become chairman of the South Carolina Bankers Associa on,

‘Louie’s knowledge of banking is second to none in South Carolina. He’s going to be missed. The next commissioner of banking is going to have some big shoes to fill.’ –Fleetwood Hassell Chief Execu ve Oﬃcer The Bank of South Carolina said Jacobs took him under his wing and “showed me the ropes.” That compassion was evident to others, as well. “Louie wasn’t one of those people who was unapproachable as a bank examiner,” said Hassell, of the Bank of South Carolina. “He really cared about the banks he examined, and he really cared about the employees of the banks he examined. “He had a calmness about him and that was reassuring,” he added. “We’re going to miss him.” Seen it All Jacobs took over as commissioner on July 1, 1991, becoming only the fourth full me banking commissioner in South Carolina since 1940. He replaced Robert C. “Carl” Cleveland, who had assumed the post in 1965. The oﬃce of the Commissioner of Banking regulates not only state-chartered banks, savings banks, and savings

Louie A. Jacobs Title: South Carolina Commissioner of Banking (re red). Hometown: Pleasant Hill (Georgetown County). Age: 68. Educa on: Bachelor’s Degree, Business Administra on, University of South Carolina. Family: Wife, Rose; two daughters; three grandchildren.

and loan associa ons, but also credit unions and trust companies. The oﬃce monitors opera ons of those ins tuons and also determines compliance with state laws and regula ons. When Jacobs took over as commissioner the na on was s ll in the throes of the Savings and Loan Crisis, in which one of every three S&Ls na onwide failed. South Carolina, while not hit quite so hard, did see several S&Ls go under. By the mid- to late-1990s, a wave of new banks was started, a trend which con nued up through the beginning of the Great Recession. That’s when tough mes hit the state and na onal banking industry. Nearly 500 banks across the na on failed during the Great Recession. While nearby states such as Georgia and Florida experienced far more failures than South Carolina, the Palme o State didn’t escape unscathed. Despite the significant downturn, Jacobs was a rock, say those who worked with him during the period. “It was challenging, but we just plowed through,” Dzek added. “Louie knew it was just another cycle.” Added Bickham, “He knew we’d eventually get through it. It was very helpful to us that he was here and we were able to turn to him for advice on how to handle it.” Bankers respected Jacobs’ ability to stand firm when needed, but be flexible if possible, according to Hassell. “He acted when he needed to act, but he had a steady hand, and didn’t do things that weren’t necessary,” he said. “Louie was able to say ‘Let’s wait and let things work out’ when it was appropriate.” Those who know him say that Jacobs intends to concentrate on family now that his tenure as banking commissioner is over. As a going-away gi , his co-workers gave him a grandparent’s membership to the Riverbanks Zoo. Now he and his wife can take his grandchildren to the Columbia a rac on whenever they desire. 5

Scholarship Golf Tournament

Strong Showing Highlights SCBA Golf Tournament Nearly $29,000 was raised at the 27th annual Young Bankers Division Scholarship Golf Tournament, held Oct. 3 at Columbia Country Club in Blythewood. All tournament proceeds go to scholarships for children of employees of SCBAmember banks and thri s. In the past two years, the SCBA has awarded nearly $100,000 in scholarships to deserving students. The winning team was led by Joe Walk-

er and Patrick Hopper of Eagle Sponsor J.H. Developments/Marcos Pizza; along with Frank Mood, Infrastructure Supply Co., and James Moss, Protec ve Packaging. The second place team was composed of Sam Baxter, Keith Buckhouse, Marcus Crosswell and Kevin Futrell, all with NBSC, a division of Synovus. Closest to the Pin was captured by Lindsay Crawford IV of Crawford & von

Keller LLC, while Longest Drive went to Hopper. The team which registered the highest score was composed of Brent Amye e, AT-NET Services; Aaron Godlewski, Horry County State Bank; Lee Kiser, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP; and Sco Klumb, Palme o State Bank. In all, 132 golfers par cipated in the Young Bankers Division Scholarship Golf Tournament this year.

Scholarship Golf Tournament

Women in Banking

Women’s Banking Symposium Draws 140+ to Charlotte More than 140 individuals turned out for the third annual Women in Banking Leadership Symposium, a joint eﬀort of the South Carolina and North Carolina Bankers Associa ons, held Sept. 28-29 at The Omni in Charlo e. Speakers from across the na on, including some of the country’s top bankers and business execu ves, were on hand to relate experiences. Among those who spoke were Gwen Thompson, chief execu ve oﬃcer of Clover Community Bank; Paula Harper Bethea, vice chairman of the board for South State Corp. and execu ve direc-

tor of the S.C. Educa on Lo ery; and Michelle Lee, Eastern Region Community Banking president for Wells Fargo. The symposium also featured a leadership panel, which included Jan Hollar, CEO of Horry County State Bank; Suzanne DeFerie, president & CEO of Asheville Savings Bank; Kathy Heﬄey, regional president for Wells Fargo; and Cindy Wolfe, president of the Carolinas Division for Bank of the Ozarks. Such events are important, Hollar said, adding that she spent most of her career avoiding women-orients events fearing it would look as though she

were asser ng herself as a woman, rather than as an oﬃcer or employee. “Later in my career, I realized that women face a unique challenge of trying to do it all,” she said. “This can be overwhelming and it is refreshing to hear from successful women who have found a balance that has allowed them to be successful in their career while not sacrificing their families. This type of event helps to acknowledge this challenge as widespread and oﬀer ways to address it through mentoring and listening to lessons learned.” See Symposium, Page 28

From Top Le , clockwise: Kathy J. Heﬄey, Wells Fargo; Cindy Wolfe, Bank of the Ozarks; Bonnie McGeer, The American Banker; Jan H. Hollar, Horry County State Bank; and Suzanne S. DeFerie, Asheville Savings Bank. Above: Taking a break. Below: Full house listens raptly. Le : Rebeca Romero Rainey, chairman, Independent Community Bankers of America and CEO, Cen nel Bank. Middle: Susan Beehler, Carolina Alliance Bank.

Women in Banking

Top le : Paula Harper Bethea, vice chairman, South State Corp., and execu ve director, South Carolina Educaon Lo ery. Top right: Gwen M. Thompson, CEO, Clover Community Bank. Middle: A endees listen in during a presenta on. Bo om right. Marva Smalls, an execu ve with Viacom and Viacom Kids and Family Group, and a board member of NBSC, a division of Synovus. Bo om le : Paula Harper Bethea, vice chairman of South State Corp., is surrounded by South State Bank employees following her talk tled â&#x20AC;&#x153;Inspira on, Admira on and Apprecia on.â&#x20AC;?

Feature

Savings Banks Observe 200 Years of Serving Americans Evan Sparks ABA Banking Journal

similar savings bank would be of great benefit to Boston, “by supplying to the industrious poor a place of safe deposit for their savings,” as a biographer relates. “In this way, habits of economy would be gradually formed and encouraged.” Savage spread the word among his peers, and not two weeks a er the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society opened for business, 48 of Boston’s leading men incorporated the Provident Ins tu on for Savings on similar principles. It opened for business early in 1817. Meanwhile, in 1816 New York, the great philanthropists Thomas Eddy and John Griscom had also go en word of the “friendly socie es” in Britain and were seeking to establish one in their hometown. (It took them a li le longer due to skep cism about gran ng new banking

charters in the legislature; the New Yorkers had to wait un l 1819.) A savings bank wave swept through the ci es and towns of the young republic. Savings banks were established in Bal more and Salem, Mass., in 1818; in Hartford, Conn., and Providence and Newport, R.I., in 1819; and Albany, N.Y., in 1820. The Bal more bank founders essen ally copied the founding documents of the Philadelphia bank. (The first savings bank to be established in South Carolina didn’t open un l 1843, when the Provident Ins tu on for Savings began opera on in Charleston. Later known as the Charleston Savings Ins tu on, it didn’t survive the Civil War.) That the savings banks in Philadelphia, Boston and New York were launched virtually simultaneously seems like dumb luck – and thus all three ci es are credited with kick-star ng the American savings bank movement. But they were singing from the same sheet of music. The savings bank was a perfect fit for the America of its me, and it would fundamentally transform the way Americans thought about their money.

n a chilly November day in Philadelphia in 1816, Condy Raguet was walking down Chestnut Street, mulling over reports he had read about the then-novel savings bank model in Great Britain for helping the poor. Raguet – a rakishly handsome 32-yearold merchant, Caribbean traveler and literary man – ran into a few friends along the way and asked them if they had heard of the concept. Without stopping for a reply, he implored them: “Would you unite with me in the endeavor to establish one?” The friends had heard of the savings banks and instantly wanted to cooperate with Raguet, resolving to meet again in five days’ me. On Nov. 25, Raguet and 11 other prominent young Philadelphians hammered out the principles of the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society. By Dec. 2, the bank was open for business at the oﬃce of one of the founders – less than two weeks from concep on to opera on – with deposits being accepted on Mondays and withdrawals being paid out on Thursdays. With five dollars, Raguet’s African-American manservant, Cur s Roberts, became the bank’s first depositor. Like Raguet, Bostonian James Savage was also 32 and had cut his teeth in Caribbean trade – this me selling blocks of New England pond ice to cool-craving islanders. Savage read a report from the London Provi- Boston’s Provident Savings Bank, one of the na on’s first savings banks, bedent Ins tu on for Sav- gan in 1816 and operated at the above Beantown loca on in the 1820s and ings, and he decided a early 1830s. It remained independent un l 1986.

The Business of Savings While nearly 90 percent of the U.S. popula on today is served by banks, in the early years of the republic, the principal func on of banks was to create money in the form of commercial loans and banknotes. Their services, provided through a monopoly granted by their state charters, were generally only available to the well-to-do. Add to this the ongoing poli cal controversy over the Bank of the

United States, whose charter lapsed in 1811 and was renewed in 1816. After the War of 1812, the United States was plunged into a deep recession that capped oﬀ with a financial panic in 1819. And during the period without a central bank, state-chartered commercial banks had proliferated, leading to a massive increase in low-quality banknotes and a bout of infla on. Banks were not widely seen as a friend of the common man. Savings banks were the first step to building that trust. We tend today to take the security of money for granted, but 200 years ago, few people had a safe place to store money – especially dwellers in the swelling East Coast ci es, where wealth was not stored in farm assets, where complex markets had long limited the usefulness of barter and where the was always a possibility. In 1790, five percent of Americans lived in ci es. By 1820, seven percent did – and 11 percent did in the Northeast. By 1850, more than 15 percent of Americans were urbanites, including a full quarter of northeasterners. Ci es were full of ins tu ons designed to part unwary workers from their money, from theaters to taverns to gambling houses. Even the prudent savers would, in me, find themselves importuned by gri ing rela ves and acquaintances for “loans” that would never be repaid. As the Bank for Savings in the City of New York’s managers observed, “In every part of an ac ve popula on, and par cularly in large ci es, the diﬃculty of procuring the reward of labor is not so great as the power to preserve it.” But commercial banks were uninterested in these small but meaningful sums. “The Banks for Savings provide almost the only remedy,” the report con nued. “They give security to the depositor, improve his little stock, and, at fixed periods, allow him to withdraw the whole, if his inclina on or interest should prompt him.” This concept is u erly universal in the present, with perhaps the excep on in our low-interest-rate world that the stock is being li le improved. But it was a truly novel and appealing approach 200 years ago.

Carolina Savings Bank, one of the Palme o State’s first savings banks, operated at this loca on at the corner of Broad Street and East Bay Street in Charleston from 1875 un l it was acquired in 1957.

The earliest savings banks focused enrely on the working classes. As Thomas Eddy put it, savings banks “are certainly most admirably calculated to be beneficial to the poor, by promo ng among them a spirit of independence, economy and industry.” Mechanics, sailors, clergymen, laborers, tradesmen, appren ces, men and women in domes c service, minors, widows and orphans were all counted among savings bank customers. To maintain this focus, the bank in Bal more capped total deposits at $500. The savings banks took deposits, invested in government securi es and other yielding instruments and paid interest of 4 to 5 percent. In 1820, the Bank for Savings in New York was authorized to hold real estate loans in order to diversify its assets. Even as the class of permissible assets was expanded in diﬀerent states over me, it remained limited to collateralized loans, such as mortgages, and preferred stocks. The banks had found a pressing need, and they grew fast. In Bal more, by 1840, the first savings bank there counted 10 percent of the popula on as its customers. The managers of the New York bank op mis cally expected $50,000 of de-

posits in its first year. It a racted three mes that in half the me. A er just six years in opera on, 9,000 depositors were holding $1.4 million at the bank. Mutual savings banks con nued to grow, but not uniformly; they remained concentrated in the small towns of New England and the large ci es of the east. But the mutual idea infused other efforts. In 1831, the first building and loan was chartered near Philadelphia and quickly spread through Pennsylvania and across the country, where the need for new housing stock was more pressing than in the urbanized east. Thri and Generosity Although designed to be self-sustaining from deposits, the first savings banks were genuinely philanthropic enterprises. They were ini ally capitalized by contribu ons from leading ci zens for the benefit of the less well-oﬀ. In Philadelphia, each of the bank’s 25 corporators paid $10 to cover administra ve expenses; those who wished to contribute more could give to an auxiliary fund. These first savings banks, started as philanthropies, were mutually owned – the See Savings, Page 23 11

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Feature

Darlington Historic Group Restores Lamar Bank Sign

t’s been nearly 90 years since the doors closed on Lamar Na onal Bank, a vic m of South Carolina’s languishing post-World War I economy and slumping co on prices. But earlier this year the bank’s sign, which once beckoned customers into the Pee Dee financial ins tu on, was restored a er more than 40 years of si ng in storage. The Darlington County Historical Society then unveiled it before a gathering in Lamar, where it was well received, according to society Director Brian Gandy. “This is the first restora on project we’ve undertaken and we chose it in recogni on of the fact that the ci zens of Lamar have been very enthusias c supporters of us and of their own history,” he said. “For example, we have a Facebook page and whenever we posts items related to Lamar, it’s uncanny how many comments we get, which is unusual given how small Lamar is,” Gandy added. Lamar Na onal Bank was chartered

Restora on was a process that took several weeks. Materials were rela vely inexpensive, but the eﬀort was very labor intensive. in October 1912 with capital stock of $20,000. Lamar Na onal Bank was a member of the SCBA, as was compe tor Merchants and Planters Bank, also based in Lamar. However, at a joint mee ng of the directors of the Lamar Na onal Bank and Merchants and Planters Bank in early November 1928, a decision was reached to close both banks, “in the interest of the depositors,” an a orney told the Florence Morning News at the me. The historical society received the sign as a dona on in the late 1960s or early 1970s, Gandy said, and it’s been in the nonprofit’s possession since then. Restora on was a process that took

several weeks. Materials were rela vely inexpensive, but the eﬀort was labor intensive as it required very detail-oriented work, Gandy said. “We didn’t redo all the gold leafing on the sign because we wanted it to appear old,” Gandy said. Today, the Lamar Na onal Bank sign is situated inside the Darlington County Historical Society’s oﬃce, on the wall just outside the nonprofit’s conservaon room. Gandy, who joined the Darlington County Historical Society last summer, said he couldn’t think of a be er conserva on project for his group to begin with. “The people of Lamar are very historically minded for such a small town,” he said. “They’re very mindful of who they are, they’re very mindful of their history. When something comes along that connects them to their past, they tend to respond very enthusias cally. –Kevin Dietrich

Lamar Na onal Bank sign before, le , and a er restora on. Photos courtesy of Darlington County Historical Society. 13

Execu ve News Blue Ridge Bank C. Kyle Thomas has been named president and chief execu ve oﬃcer of Blue Ridge Bank. Thomas is a graduate of Clemson University and the Graduate School of Banking at LSU. He comes to Blue Ridge Bank with 28 years of experience in the banking industry. Much of his career has been in Upstate Thomas South Carolina; most recently at the Carolina Alliance Bank, and the former Seneca Na onal Bank in Seneca. He has also served in mul ple roles at the South Carolina Bankers Associa on, including Chairman of the Economic Development Commi ee, member of the Community Bankers Division and member of the Federal Legisla ve Commi ee. “On behalf of the board of directors, we are pleased to have Mr. Kyle Thomas as the new President and CEO of the Blue Ridge Bank,” said Chairman Jesse Neville. “He brings an array of skills and experience that will be a vital asset to the overall growth and success of our bank. We look forward to seeing him play a major role not only in the bank, but in the community as well.” Thomas is ac ve in the community as a board member of GHS Hospice of the Foothills, a member of Seneca Rotary Club and a former chairman of the Oconee Medical Center Founda on. Coastal Banking Company Charles Wagner has been promoted to president of Beaufort-based Coastal Banking Co. Wagner has been president Wagner of unit Fernandina Beach, Fla.-based CBC Na onal Bank 14

since June 2015 and directly oversees the bank’s mortgage division. Wagner also serves as a board member of the company and the bank. Michael Sanchez remains chairman and chief execu ve oﬃcer of the company and the bank.

GrandSouth Bank GrandSouth Bank recently named J.B. Schwiers president and chief execu ve officer. Schwiers has 36 years of experience in the banking industry, most recently being execu ve vice president and chief opera ons officer of GrandSouth. “J.B. has tremendous experience in the banking industry, and we have full confidence that he will excel in leading GrandSouth forward as president and CEO,” said GrandSouth Board Chairman Mason Garre . Schwiers takes over for Ronald Earnest, who re red. Earnest led GrandSouth Schwiers since the company’s incep on in 1998. Since then, the bank has grown to $450 million in assets and has offices in Greenville, Columbia, Anderson, Greer, Orangeburg and Fountain Inn. Schwiers is a graduate of The Citadel and is currently ac ve in the American Heart Associa on, The Harry Hampton Wildlife Fund and the S.C. Department of Natural Resource’s Law Enforcement and Boa ng advisory board. Prior to joining GrandSouth, Schwiers spent 10 years at First Ci zens Bank in Greenville and 15 years at Summit Na onal Bank and 10 years at Southern Bank/First Union Na onal Bank. Mutual Savings Bank Crystal R. Gardner was recently named president and managing officer of Hartsville-based Mutual Savings Bank. Gardner took over upon the re rement of Robert M. Vance, who led the company for more than 23 years of his 46-year

banking career. Gardner, a Hartsville na ve, has been employed by Mutual Savings Bank for more than 18 years and has served in many capaci es, the most recent being senior vice president since 2007. She is a graduate of the South Carolina Bankers School and ac ve in the community, serving on numerous boards and commi ees, includGardner ing Darlington County First Steps, the Chamber of Commerce Women in Business Committee and Leadership Hartsville. Mutual Savings Bank, established in 1936, has $38 million in assets.

Wells Fargo Wells Fargo President and Chief Opera ng Officer Tim Sloan has succeeded John Stumpf as chief execu ve officer. Sloan, who also joins the bank’s board, will retain his posi on as president. Sloan joined Wells Fargo 29 years ago, launching a career that would include numerous leadership roles across the company’s wholesale and commercial banking opera ons, including head of Commercial Banking, Real Estate and SpeSloan cialized Financial Services. He became president and COO in November 2015, when he assumed leadership over the company’s four main business groups: Community Banking, Consumer Lending, Wealth and Investment Management, and Wholesale Banking. Previously, Sloan headed the Wholesale Banking group a er serving as Wells’ chief financial officer and, prior to that, as the company’s chief administra ve officer.

Bank News Abbeville First Bank Abbeville First Bank has been recognized by South Carolina Secretary of State Mark Hammond as a South Carolina Centennial Business. This honor is the first of its kind in the state and is reserved for domes c business en es that have been on file with the secretary of state’s oﬃce for 100 years or more. Abbeville First Bank was incorporated in the summer of 1907, but was organized under the name of Building and Loan Associa on of Abbeville. Its assets at the me were only a few hundred dollars. The principal objec ve of the associaon was to encourage the common person to save money monthly for the primary purpose of building or buying a home. “Abbeville First Bank was created for the sole purpose of serving the people of Abbeville. Over the past hundred years we have touched thousands of lives in Abbeville by providing opportuni es for a be er future,” said Abbeville Bank President Andy Timmerman in the release. “We are now posi oning ourselves to be er serve the community for the next hundred years.” Anderson Brothers Bank Anderson Brothers Bank announced the expansion of its opera ons to a new loca on in Mullins. The bank has acquired property formerly occupied by Pee Dee Federal Savings Bank and adjacent property originally occupied by Coastal Appliance on McIntyre Street in Mullins. The former bank branch will be renovated into a 6,000-square-foot opera ons center to accommodate the growth plans of the bank. The adjacent property will be held for future expansion or reloca on of departments. Anderson Brothers Bank began a renova on and expansion of its Conway Main Street branch in October. The Mullins-based bank’s renova on project is scheduled to take approximately five months to complete.

Anderson Brothers Bank recently opened a new branch at 100 E. Main St. in La a.

Coastal Carolina Bancshares Inc. Coastal Carolina Bancshares Inc., the Myrtle Beach-headquartered parent of Coastal Carolina Na onal Bank, announced in October it had completed its merger with Aiken-based VistaBank. The combined bank is headquartered in Myrtle Beach and now has six fullservice offices, from Myrtle Beach to Aiken. Laurence S. Bolchoz Jr. remains president and chief execu ve officer of CCNB, and Paul R. Dusenbury, former president and CEO of VistaBank, has joined the CCNB execu ve team as execu ve vice president and chief risk officer. Two members of the VistaBank board of directors have joined the boards of Coastal Carolina, and four members of the VistaBank board of directors are now part of the Aiken advisory board of CCNB. First South Bank Spartanburg-based First South Bank celebrated its 20th anniversary on Aug. 19 with a special barbecue luncheon celebra on for shareholders and clients hosted by the board of directors and staff at the bank’s main branch in Spartanburg. Horry County State Bank The consent order issued by the FDIC and the South Carolina State Board of Financial Ins tu ons against Loris-based Horry County State Bank was li ed Oct. 26. The bank has been opera ng under the order, which included specific requirements related to governance, management, capital, credit quality, earnings and liquidity, since Feb. 10, 2011. South Atlan c Bank South Atlan c Bank has begun construc on on a new facility in Mount Pleasant, on Johnnie Dodds Boulevard, the Myrtle Beach-based bank announced in late July. The office will

serve as South Atlan c’s Mount Pleasant headquarters.

Southern First Bancshares Southern First Bancshares recently announced plans to expand into the Raleigh and greater Triangle market. The company, the parent of Greenvillebased Southern First Bank, named Jonathan Taylor execu ve vice president and Triangle market execu ve. Taylor most recently served as a banking execu ve at Raleigh-based Paragon Commercial Bank. Mike Stellar will join the Triangle market team of Southern First Bancshares as senior vice president. The announcement is the first out-ofstate move for Southern First. South State Corp. Shareholders of South State Corp., parent of South State Bank, approved the company’s acquisi on of AugustaGa.-headquartered Southeastern Bank Financial Corp., the parent of Georgia Bank & Trust Co., during an Oct. 18 mee ng. United Community Bank United Community Bank has moved its South Carolina headquarters to One building on North Main Street in Greenville, the former space of Certus Bank. Among those who will operate from the loca on are Chief Opera ng Officer Lynn Harton, as will the chief credit officer, chief informa on officer and posions in the financial, human resources and mortgage departments. United Community Bank will occupy more than 20,000 square feet at the new loca on. The move from United Community Bank’s current offices at Riverplace is a significant upgrade in space – 65 percent more square footage, Harton told the Greenville News – but will have “the same net cost” due to the Certus closure, which made the space a “very a rac ve deal.” Certus Bank closed its downtown Greenville headquarters and sold most of its opera ons in 2015. 15

Personal Transac ons

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Smith

Anderson Brothers Bank Glenn Greene III will manage Anderson Brothers Bank’s new branch at 100 E. Main St. in La a. Karen Griﬃn has joined Anderson Brothers Bank as a customer service representa ve. Anderson Brothers Bank recently announced that Jennifer Grooms has completed ABA Bank Marke ng School and was awarded the Cer fied Financial Marke ng Professional (CFMP) designa on by the Ins tute of Cer fied Bankers, a subsidiary of the American Bankers Associa on.

Bank of America Bank of America Corp. has named Wya Smith global commercial banking market execu ve of the Carolinas.

Greenlee

has been given the tle of execu ve vice president. Flournoy joined the company as CFO this summer.

Countybank Hazel B. Allin has been appointed to the boards of TCB Corp. and Countybank. Allin brings more than 40 years of banking experience to the boards. Prior to re rement, she served as a senior vice president and head of retail banking for a large bank company serving the Carolinas. CresCom Bank Jackie Black has been named by CresCom Bank as branch manager/ banking oﬃcer for its Litchfield loca on. CresCom Bank has named Elizabeth Dunham the new branch manager/ assistant vice president for its Cayce oﬃce.

Bank of South Carolina Jennifer A. Arato has been promoted to senior vice president at the Bank of South Carolina. She is head of the credit department.

Tamara “Tami” Erkman has joined CresCom Bank as a branch opera ons specialist based in the West Ashley branch.

BNC Bank BNC Bank has hired Jon Greenlee as senior vice president and city execu ve of the Myrtle Beach market.

Thanks to a new partnership between CresCom Bank and LPL Financial, LPL financial advisor Ben Frazier has joined the CresCom financial services team.

Carolina Alliance Bank Carolina Alliance Bank recently announced that Cur ce Winsch has joined its Greenville oﬃce as a loan oﬃcer.

Steve Majewski was recently appointed vice president and commercial loan officer for CresCom Bank’s Mee ng Street branch in Charleston.

Coastal Banking Co. Thomas Flournoy, chief financial oﬃcer of Beaufort-based Coastal Banking Co.,

CresCom Bank recently named Ashley Rogers assistant branch manager/bank oﬃcer for its Summerville oﬃce.

Winsch

Black

Entegra Bank Entegra Bank has hired Art Wray as its mortgage lending officer for the ins tu on’s new loan produc on office in Clemson. First Ci zens Bank Pam Jeter has been promoted by First Ci zens to financial sales manager at the ins tu on’s Easley office. First South Bank Howard L. Ellis Jr. has been named by First South Bank as vice president commercial lending officer in Blu on. First South Bank has named Lonnie B. Chestnut III senior vice president area execu ve in Columbia. Christopher W. Georgion recently joined First South Bank as assistant vice president officer manager in Spartanburg. First South Bank has named Jeffrey D. Howard vice president commercial lending officer. Megan R. Kingsbury-Wiggs joined First South Bank as banking officer commercial lending officer in Greenville. First South Bank has named David H. Zabriskie senior vice president commercial lending officer in Spartanburg.

F.N.B. Corp. Steven Jones will serve as chief banking oﬃcer for North and South Carolina for F.N.B. Corp. once F.N.B. completes its planned merger with Yadkin Finan-

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cial Corp. The merger is expected to be concluded in the first quarter of the coming year.

Independence Na onal Bank Topekia Garne has been promoted to assistant branch manager by Independence Na onal Bank. Courtney Starks has been promoted to teller supervisor by Independence Na onal Bank at the ins tu on’s Simpsonville oﬃce. Independence Na onal Bank has named Tracy Morelle financial services representa ve at the ins tu on’s Simpsonville oﬃce.

NBSC, a division of Synovus David Wenger has joined NBSC as vice president and commercial banker based in the ins tu on’s downtown Charleston office. Security Federal Bank Kathi Snipes has been promoted to senior vice president of Aiken-headquartered Security Federal Bank. Her new role involves serving as the Community Development Financial Ins tu on coordinator/Community Reinvestment Act officer. South Atlan c Bank Carrie Harris has been named senior vice president and director of human resources by South Atlan c Bank. Harris is South Atlan c’s first official human resources director. South Atlan c Bank recently announced

Harris

that Ann Jackson has joined the company’s mortgage opera ons team. Kaela Rogers has been appointed customer service representa ve in the Pawleys Island branch by South Atlan c Bank.

South Carolina Community Bank Luther H. Holmes III has been promoted to assistant vice president by South Carolina Community Bank. South State Bank Columbia-based South State Bank has named Christopher Shugart senior vice president. TD Bank, N.A. Aaron Brewer recently joined TD Bank as the ins tu on’s Charleston city execu ve. TD Bank has appointed Sco Warren as senior commercial rela onship manager in the ins tu on’s Charleston market. Suzanne Lynch has been named commercial real estate manager for TD Bank.

Wells Fargo Wells Fargo elected lead director Stephen Sanger the company’s nonexecu ve chairman at the same me it named Tim Sloan its new CEO (see Execu ve News, page 14). Also, independent director Elizabeth Duke will serve as vice chair. Elsewhere J. Harold Chandler, a former execu ve

Holmes

Brewer

with Ci zens and Southern Na onal Bank, C&S/Sovran and Na onsBank, was named president and chief execuve officer of Milliken Corp. in midOctober. Michael S. Dymski, a former execu ve with TD Bank and The South Financial Group, has been promoted to the posion of vice president and chief accounting officer for Greenville-based Regional Management Corp. From 2011 through 2013, Dymski was the regional controller for TD Bank, and from 2000 through 2010 he held a variety of posi ons with TD’s predecessor, South Financial, including accoun ng manager, vice president and controller, and senior vice president of management repor ng. Charles Eldridge Jr. of Greenville, financial consultant and re red Upstate president of BNC Bank, has been named to the Clemson University Founda on Board. Long me South Carolina banker and former SCBA board member Tom Felder was named chief execu ve officer of Tennessee-headquartered Tri-State Bank of Memphis in August. Among posi ons Felder held while in the Palme o State was CEO of South Carolina Community Bank. H. Allen Salter, the former execuve vice president, CFO and treasurer Oconee Federal Savings and Loan Associa on is now execu ve vice president and CFO of Collinsville, Ill.-based Best Hometown Bancorp Inc. and subsidiary Best Hometown Bank. 17

News

2016-17 SCBA Calendar Boasts Strong Lineup of Events Among key South Carolina Bankers Associa on educa onal events coming up in the next few months is a recently added Interest Rate Risk Workshop, the Economic Developers Conference and the Commercial Lending School. The first event will be held Nov. 17, 2016, in Columbia in tandem with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Interest rate risk remains a key focus of the regulators and persistent challenge for community banks. The workshop will improve bankers’ insight into what examiners look for in terms of oversight management of an ins tu on’s interest rate risk management program. Experts from the FDIC will discuss common examina on issues and program weaknesses as well as what you can do to avoid them. They will also highlight reasonable expecta ons of outside par es that review your interest rate risk programs to help you ensure that

‘Quality professional development is essen al to improving your financial ins tu on and the banking profession.’ –E. Anne Gillespie Senior Vice President, SCBA money allo ed to independent reviews is well spent. The Economic Developers Conference will take place two days prior, on Nov. 15, in Charleston. Emphasis will be on examining exci ng new resources and techniques related to South Carolina economic development, and the program includes presenta ons from our state’s key economic development agencies as well as other

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recent developments. In addi on, the Bankers Associa on will be pu ng on several other important events in the coming months, including: • The SCBA CECL Seminar Dec. 1 • The SCBA BSA/AML Conference, Jan. 25-26, 2017; and • The SCBA Commercial Lending School, Jan. 31-Feb. 2. All three events will be held in Columbia. “Quality professional development is essen al to improving your financial ins tu on and the banking profession,” said SCBA Senior Vice President E. Anne Gillespie. “Programs feature expert speakers, the latest on cri cal topics, prac cal solu ons to enhance compe veness and the opportunity to connect with other members.” Contact Gillespie for more informa on on the above events at 803.779.0850, or by email at agillespie@scbankers.org.

News

Upcoming CECL Seminar to Look at New Standards Eighty-three percent of bankers say that implemen ng FASB’s Current Expected Credit Loss standard will require substan al changes to policies, procedures or technology systems, according to a survey conducted by the American Ins tute of CPAs. Of those, 20 percent believe CECL will be the biggest accoun ng change their bank has ever undergone. CECL takes effect in 2020 for Securi es and Exchange Commission registrants and 2021 for all others. South Carolina Bankers Associa on members concerned about changes ahead can learn more about CECL at the SCBA’s CECL Seminar, set for Dec. 1 in Columbia. The SCBA CECL Workshop will cover the following: • Summary of the final CECL standard; • Important challenges of the new standard, including recommended

me frames; Methodologies to meet the new CECL requirements of es ma ng losses over the life of loans and leases; • Some of the data challenges of the new CECL model compared to the current ALLL rules; • External data needs; • Tracking and iden fying key drivers of credit risk within a por olio; • What data may be useful in mee ng CECL’s requirement of “reasonable and supportable forecasts” of the future; • Suggested implementa on plan and the bank team members that might contribute to the eﬀort; and • Legal and regulatory hot topics. According to an ABA report, the majority of those surveyed – 85 percent – are confident in their exis ng reserving process to address the transi on, and 70 percent say they have either already •

started preparing for implementa on or plan to do so before the end of this year. Some 23 percent plan to establish a dedicated CECL team to make the transi on, while half say they will rely on their current account staﬀ to tackle the CECL implementa on in addi on to their exis ng roles and responsibili es. Bankers are most concerned about the overwhelming amount of data they will have to manage as they implement CECL (47 percent), followed by the scruny they’ll face from auditors, regulators and investors (27 percent). For more informa on on the Dec. 1 CECL Seminar, contact SCBA Senior Vice President E. Anne Gillespie at 803.779.0850, or by email at agillespie@scbankers.org. As banks prepare to implement CECL, ABA invites bankers to join its CECL peer group, which includes the ABA’s Current Expected Credit Loss Network.

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Bankers Reach 164,000 on Get Smart About Credit Day Approximately 5,000 bankers from more than 360 banks and thri s across the country took part in the ABA Founda on’s Get Smart About Credit Day, held Oct. 20. Bankers visited high school classrooms to teach more than 164,000 students about the importance of using credit effec vely. Banks opera ng in South Carolina that took part in Get Smart About Credit Day included Abbeville First Bank, Ameris Bank, Carolina Alliance Bank, Conway Na onal, Bank, Georgia Bank & Trust, South Atlan c Bank, South State Bank, TD Bank, N.A., and Wells Fargo. This annual ini a ve encourages bankers to present lessons on important financial obstacles facing young adults, including paying for college, knowing their credit score, managing money and protec ng their iden ty. “Financial educa on is essen al to building a genera on of smart money

managers,” said ABA Founda on Execuve Director Corey Carlisle. “We’re proud of our programs, like Get Smart About Credit, both encourage and support bankers in bringing those cri cal lessons to their local communi es,” Carlisle added. Presenta ons this year took place in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The ABA marked the day by co-hos ng a lesson with Burke & Herbert Bank at West Potomac High School in Alexandria, Va. ABA President and Chief Execu ve Officer Rob Nichols joined Burke & Herbert Bank Senior Vice President Joseph F. Collum to present a lesson to almost 60 junior high school and senior high school students. This year, Get Smart About Credit was sponsored by Ci , TD Bank, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo.

Get Smart About Credit Day is part of the ABA Founda on’s larger financial educa on ini a ve. To encourage banker par cipa on, the ABA Founda on oﬀers free informa onal webinars, as well as lesson plans, program materials and real- me customer support. Registered banks are featured on a list of par cipa ng banks on the ABA Founda on’s website and in press materials. Since 1997, the American Bankers Associa on Founda on’s financial educa on programs have reached over 8.9 million young people with the help of more than 225,000 banker volunteers. Next year, Get Smart About Credit Day will be held on Oct. 17. The ABA provides material on: knowing your credit score; paying for college; protec ng your iden ty; and managing your money. For more informa on, go to h p://www.aba.com/Engagement/ Pages/getsmartaboutcredit.aspx.

Feature

Facing Up to the Challenges of Activist Shareholders

nvestors be ng on consolida on as the best path to improve bank performance have unleashed a wave of shareholder ac vism at banks. In 2015 alone, ac vists launched 22 campaigns aimed at U.S. banks both small and large, up from eight in 2009, according to Thomson Reuters ac vism data. And beyond these formal campaigns, hedge fund inves ng in banks con nues to rise. Usually, an ac vist shareholder is seeking to shake things up. They typically iden fy companies that are underperforming, purchase a large number of shares, and try to obtain board seats in order to eﬀect major change. Ac vists argue they have an ability to add value, and the data seem to bear that out. On average, ac vist shareholders create 130 basis points of excess return above the relevant S&P industry index, Bain and Company partner Josh Hinkel told American Banker earlier this year. However, many bankers and banking experts see ac vists as too willing to trade long-term value for short-term pricing. “In community banking, ac vism is too o en synonymous with pressure to sell a bank,” says John Gorman, a partner with the Washington, D.C., oﬃce of Luse Gorman PC. But not engaging with ac vists, regardless of their goals, is one of the biggest mistakes a bank can make, Gorman and others added, because they are first and foremost shareholders. “Most banks aren’t prepared, and react in a defensive or hos le way,” says Dory Wiley, president and CEO of Commerce Street Holdings, a Dallas-based investment

banking firm. “This is the absolute worst thing you can do.” “Shareholder ac vism in banks tends to be a milder form than in other sectors because of the regulatory aspect,” Wiley adds. But, he con nues, “Most ac vists in banking have pre y legi mate issues. Banking isn’t rocket science, so it isn’t that hard to pinpoint where management is making mistakes and needs to improve. More o en than not, it is more of an alignment issue.”

O en the goal of an ac vist campaign is to pressure the company to sell – but it’s far from the only possible objec ve or outcome. Shareholder campaigns can also focus on execu ve compensaon, proxy access, the role of the board chairman and environmental and social issues, among other topics. Ac vists have a wide variety of tools at their disposal, including proxy fights, shareholder resolu ons and direct nego aons with management. For example, one of the most potent strategies now being used by ac vists is the proxy access proposal. Nearly 200 were submi ed for all public companies during the 2016 proxy season, according to Skadden LLP. These proposals upend the tradi onal approach to board nomina ons by enabling shareholders to nominate their own director candidates on the company’s proxy statement

alongside management’s choices. The most common approach allows investors who have held at least 3 percent of the company’s shares for at least three years to nominate up to one-quarter of the directors. As of mid-June, according to Skadden, 65 percent of all public companies that received a proxy access shareholder proposal had adopted or proposed a 3 percent bylaw or announced plans to do so. High hurdle Banking has never been the easiest industry for ac vist investors to enter. The banking regulatory framework places a premium on safety and soundness and strong capital requirements. To avoid triggering regulatory restric ons, investors o en keep their stakes in banks and bank holding companies to no more than 4.9 percent, though a posi on up to 9.9 percent is also common. By and large, however, “shareholders are going to try to stay away from going over a 5 percent posi on unless they are willing to sign on for regulatory issues,” says Tuck Washburne, a partner in the Washington, D.C., oﬃce of Venable LLP. There is no ques on that ac vist shareholders are making an impact in corporate America broadly. During 2015, ac vist investors gained 127 board seats at U.S. companies – and 117 of these were granted, with only 10 won in a vote, according to SharkRepellent.net, a corporate governance site. Thirty-five percent of micro-cap companies – those with a market capitalizaon of less than $300 million – were approached by ac vists between the See Ac visit, page 22 21

Ac vist spring of 2014 and the spring of 2015, according to the Na onal Associa on of Corporate Directors, ci ng its most recent data at press me. Among small cap companies – with market capitalizaon of $300 million to $2 billion – 13 percent had been approached by ac vists. Michael D. Schiﬀer, a partner in Venable’s Bal more oﬃce, sees clear reasons why ac vism has increased for companies generally since the beginning of 2015. “Prac cally speaking, there is a lot more money in ac vist hedge funds than a few years ago, and the simple targets have all been used up.” Addi onally, he points out, “We are now far enough away from recession that shareholders…are no longer sa sfied banks are just surviving – they want to see performance.” Well-known ac vists Community banks have been the focus of a small but ac ve cadre of investors for years, though the financial crisis dampened interest for a me. One of the best known hedge funds focused on banking is S llwell Value LLC, which held $161 million in investments in 43 financial services companies as of June 30, 2016. Founder Joe S llwell, a so -spoken man whose name o en provokes anxiety across the banking industry, is known for pushing banks to sell. He says overcapacity can be resolved reasonably if bank boards are willing to engage in construc ve conversa ons with investors. But, he adds in an interview, “When the managers of a bank or any company confuse themselves with the owners or the ins tu on itself, bad things happen and they get worse as me goes on.” Another renowned bank hedge fund is Seidman & Co., which held $146 million in shares of 28 banks as of June 30, 2016. Manager Lawrence B. Seidman con nues to make steady inroads into banks; on July 1, he was granted a board seat at MSB Financial, parent of $380 million-asset Millington Bank in Milling22

What makes a bank vulnerable to ac vist shareholders? Ac vists will focus on companies they think they can overcome. ton, N.J. The price of winning The cost to a financial ins tu on that decides to challenge an ac vist investor can be substan al. In June, Financial Ins tu ons Inc., the parent company of $3.5 billion-asset Five Star Bank of Warsaw, N.Y., won a proxy fight when its slate of board nominees was elected over those nominated by ac vist Clover Partners. However, the company accumulated $1.7 million in proxy-related expenses during the second quarter, according to regulatory filings. Even a er a company wins a proxy fight, it may find itself making compromises down the road. Virginia-based Middleburg Bank in May re-elected its director slate over the objec ons of Teton Capital, which owns about 30 percent of the $1.3 billion-asset bank’s stock and was pressing for a sale. In July, the bank announced that John V. Lee IV would succeed Joseph Boling as chairman, with “driving profitability, improving eﬃciency and managing risk” as his goals. What makes a bank vulnerable to ac vist shareholders? “Ac vists will focus on companies they think they can overcome,” Gorman says. “Maybe your vote has dri ed lower on say pay—that could be an indica on of some brooding discontent. Maybe you are viewed as underperforming – management needs to know where they stand rela ve to peers in terms of performance. And by regularly mee ng with shareholders, you’re more likely to know about possible issues, rather than being surprised.” In addi on, Gorman explained, banks’ shareholder bases evolve over me,

especially if they are pursuing a growth strategy. “The stockholder base is not necessarily a local community base,” Gorman says. “As you move up the market cap scale, more shares are being held by funds and ins tu ons.” Parcipa ng in investment banking conferences, where execu ves can meet one-on-one with known stockholders, is valuable, he said. “Engagement and familiarity build trust. If you do get into an ac vist situa on and you haven’t built up a rela onship, you may face complaints that ‘You haven’t reached out to me.’” Banks can reduce their vulnerability through some basic blocking and tackling measures – ongoing shareholder communica ons that are purposeful in telling the bank’s story, for example. There are also steps banks can take when they find themselves in an ac vist’s crosshairs: • Don’t be hos le or defensive. “Every oﬀer should not only be considered, but in a friendly, businesslike way,” says Wiley. “A tude is everything. Saying no through a formal process and a respec ul smile is preferred.” • Don’t ignore any shareholder. “You’ve got to interact to give them the right level of a en on and show you understand what they are pushing for,” Schiﬀer says. “Interacting doesn’t mean capitula ng. If they want a sale for a quick buck, you can say no.” • Consider ways to accommodate shareholders. “Ac vists o en have a long litany of things they want done. Some mes they are pushing for something that is already part of the strategic plan and will be pacified if just one thing is done,” says Washburne. • Focus on the message. “You may not like the delivery, but some mes what they have to say is not that onerous,” explains Becky Pendleton Reid, president of the Cereghino Group, a Sea le-based investor re-

Savings trustees held no ownership and took no dividend. To make the trustees’ contributed dollars and the depositors’ saved pennies stretch further, volunteerism was the order of the day. At the Bank for Savings in New York, the trustees took turns “a ending” at the bank each month, taking deposits and keeping the books – which helped the trustees get to know their depositors, built up the trust of the depositors in the bank and gave depositors access to the trustees’ free advice and counsel. Trustees took their du es quite seriously. In Philadelphia, Savings Fund Society treasurer George Billington is said to have slept with both the deposits and a revolver under his pillow. The philanthropic mission of savings banks was clear to their early leaders. James Savage noted that the Provident in Boston did its “greatest good” in aﬀording laborers, servants and ar sans, “who cons tute two-thirds of our popula on, a secure disposal of their li le earnings, which would otherwise be squandered, or unwisely lent out to pe y fraudulent dealers.” Savings banks arose in the context of a na onwide religious revival whose theological underpinnings emphasized thri . Historians credit savings banks with infusing the broader U.S. banking sector with this virtue. A century ago, James Manning wrote that “banks are aban-

doning their tradi onal a tude of mere passivity and are becoming ac ve, effec ve s mulators of thri among all classes of the people, thus fulfilling an educa onal func on of the utmost importance.” The savings bank legacy is also a reminder of the power of the human touch in banking. ] “Despite all our vastness and the intricacy of the apparatus we have devised for the transac on of business, whether it be that of a Savings Bank or of a merchant prince,” wrote Manning, “the human factor – the individual personality in contact with other individuals – s ll holds the reins of power.” ‘It’s a Reminder’ The 20th century brought great changes to savings banks. Customers who started out poor became middle-class, and as the banks’ clientele became more refined, they a racted even more middle-class customers. Increasing compe on for small deposits led many banks to adver se and diversify. Regulatory consolida on and tax changes reduced dis nc ve features of savings banks, pushing many mutuals to convert to stock banks and diversify further. Deposit insurance cut into the message of unique security that savings banks had promoted to their depositors for so long.

And while the savings bank is no longer as dis nct a form as it once was, today’s savings bank leaders cherish the legacy. In many cases, it’s embodied in bank names like the Dime Community Bank in Brooklyn or the Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank in Massachuse s. “Some people allege that it was because it took five cents to open an account,” says Cape Cod Five Chairman, President and CEO Dorothy Savarese. “Another more common theory is that it was to encourage thri , and that they

While the savings bank is no longer as dis nct a form as it once was, today’s savings bank leaders cherish the legacy. were encouraging the fishermen and the cranberry farmers here to put five cents a week into their savings.” Cape Cod Five is today a full-service community bank oﬀering deposit and payment products, mortgages, commercial loans and wealth management. But the 161-year-old bank is s cking to its old-fashioned name. “We’ve maintained the name even though some people think it’s an anachronism,” says Savarese. “To us – it’s a reminder.”

Ac vist

•

la ons firm. “Maybe it’s a ma er of publishing a dividend policy or going over it with them.” She added, “It’s very easy to take what they say personally. When they come out with guns blazing it’s hard to open a dialogue.” Know your shareholders. “Monitor your stockholder base every single day and throughout the year,” says Schiﬀer. “You don’t want the first no ce that you have an ac vist to occur when you receive a le er.” Reid recommends obtaining the bank’s NOBO list – short for non-

objec ng beneficial owners, meaning those that do not object to the issuer knowing their name, mailing address and share amount – from a broker or proxy intermediary. • Benchmark your bank against compe tors. “It all starts with performance,” Gorman adds. “You must understand how you stack up rela ve to your peers. What are your plans to maintain or improve your results?” And what if an unwelcome le er arrives in the mailbox despite everything? “Take the le er seriously,” advises

Schiﬀer. “Learn what you can about the investor and their typical approach to ac vism and investment. Then get your team together – [internal] investor rela ons, the board, and your external advisers, who will probably include your lawyers, your regular investment banker, and certainly a proxy solicitor.” “You need a kitchen cabinet you can call together,” adds Reid. “The last thing you want is to be scrambling around saying, ‘Whom do I call?’” (Debra Cope is editor-in-chief of the ABA Banking Journal Directors Briefing.) 23

Welcome New Associate Members BFS Group 411 South State St. Newton, PA 18940 Contact: David R. Payne Phone: 267.291.2130 Email: dpayne@bfsgroup.com Website: BFSGroup.com

Notification of Non-Renewing S.C. Bankers Association Members

As the 2016-17 fiscal year begins, the South Carolina Bankers Associa on reBFS Group, a na onal firm with ports that the following companies are 10 regional offices throughout no longer SCBA Associate Members. the country, is a leader in every aspect of the Please update your lis ngs to reflect bank-owned life insurance (BOLI) industry. BFS these changes. Group’s comprehensive individual approach to We thank these companies for their crea ng the most efficient-earning BOLI asset past support. The SCBA would welfor their community bank clients is unmatched come each of them to rejoin the Assoin the industry due to their total access to cia on as Associate Members. BOLI life insurance carriers and products. The non-renewing companies are: BFS Group’s unmatched carrier rela onships allow them to design the most appropriate BOLI transac on that will fit each ins tu on’s • 2engage; characteris cs and culture, and will ul mately • Affinion Group; • Bryan Cave; significantly increase the bank’s bo om line earnings. Their unparalleled customer support • Credit Risk Management Analy cs, LLC; includes specialized BOLI and re rement-plan educa on and administra on, all pre- and • Deluxe Corp; post-purchase BOLI regulatory compliance, • Fortrex Tech; and an industry standard u lizing both state• Howe Construc on; of-the-art proprietary so ware and highly experienced back-office exper se with an emphasis on personalized customer service. Your Marke ng Co 11 College St. Greenville, SC 29602 Contact: Haley Kennedy Phone: 864.908.9291 Email: haley@yourmarke ngco.com Website: yourmarke ng.co

This is the stand-out service that has made us one of the most sought-a er marke ng teams in the financial industry in the past decade. What’s unique about our service? For smaller clients, we provide hard-won exper se and strategy. We follow up with execu on and accountability that even larger counterparts dream of. We integrate into your organiza on and become part of your leadership team. For larger clients, our team complements your marke ng experts as a one-stop shop for brand consistency and target messaging. We func on as the equivalent of an en re in-house marke ng team without the overhead. No other firm spends as much me as building rela onships with clients as we do. 24

• • • • •

Integral Solu ons Group; Ncontracts; Sterling Compliance; The Benefit Company, Inc.; and VSo Corp.

SCBA Services Inc. is dedicated to reducing the costs of products and services for South Carolina banks. To find out more about SCBA Associate Membership or to become a Preferred Vendor, please contact SCBA Senior Vice President Carolyn Laﬃ e at 803.779.0850 or through email at carolynlaﬃ e@scbankers.org.

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Good Samaritans Anderson Brothers Bank Anderson Brothers Bank recently donated one of its Mullins buildings, located at 501 E. McIntyre St., formally the Old Mullins Lumber Co., to Marion County for future use by the Marion County Animal Shelter. The 12,000-square-foot structure building, located on 6.37 acres, was deeded to Marion County with plans for the building to serve as its animal shelter. Plans call for the building to be renovated, as the current county shelters need more room and a be er environment for their occupants. In addi on, the property has enclosed fencing around the rear to provide much needed space for turnouts or runs for its large dog popula on, along with an exis ng shelter for addi onal expansion. Anderson Brothers Bank was the tle sponsor for the Shake It Up Marion County dance-oﬀ. The event was held Sept. 15 at Woodhaven in Marion. This year’s event featured nine dance couples compe ng from the Marion, Mullins and Nichols areas. Proceeds went to the Marion County Council on Aging and the Marion County Animal Shelter, among other chari es.

tainable,” said Stacy Brandon, Greenville market president for Bank of America. Each day, Meals on Wheels volunteers serve nearly 1,500 hot, nutri ous meals to homebound individuals throughout Greenville County. Founded in 1968, Meals on Wheels has delivered more than 11 million meals in its 47 years. Members of the Bank of America’s Spartanburg leadership team recently presented a $9,000 check to Habitat for Humanity of Spartanburg for the demoli on of a condemned home in Spartanburg and to prepare the site for construc on ac vity. Through the Bank of America Founda on, Bank of America seeks to eliminate urban blight in neighborhoods and the funds are being used to demolish a long-vacant, condemned home on Spartanburg’s Bon Air Avenue. A safe, aﬀordable Habitat home is now being constructed on the loca on and will be home to a Habitat Spartanburg partner family. The home is located in the Habitat at Regional neighborhood, across Church Street from Spartanburg Medical Center and will take about three months to build.

First Reliance Bank Employees and customers of First Reliance Bank chipped in to help Florence’s Lighthouse Ministries a er the nonprof-

it was burglarized this summer and had its baby supplies stolen. First Reliance customers stepped up and donated $1,000, and First Reliance matched it with another $1,000.

Independence Na onal Bank The Simpsonville branch of Independence Na onal Bank par cipated in The Open Arms 5K Run on Sept. 17 at Conestee Park in Simpsonville. Open Arms Founda on provides housing for families in medical crisis that must travel to receive medical treatment. This year’s 5K run was held in Virginia and South Carolina, and the money raised went to help a number of families. ServisFirst Bank ServisFirst Bank Charleston market President Tom Trouche and wife Ariel are heading the American Red Cross of the Lowcountry’s 2016 Clara Barton Society Campaign. The Clara Barton Society Campaign is the organiza on’s annual major gi fundraising campaign to support the mission and services of the Red Cross. The Clara Barton Society honors businesses and individuals who share a sense of caring, commitment and compassion, generously expressed through their financial support of the Red Cross. Members of the Society are ac ve partners in carrying out the work of the Red Cross. Membership in the Clara Barton Society begins with a financial contribu on of $1,000 or more.

Bank of America The Bank of America Charitable Founda on recently donated $3,000 to Meals on Wheels of Greenville, which will provide more than 1,770 frozen evening and weekend meals to qualifying clients. This is the third consecu ve year Bank of America has provided funding for this program, dona ng $25,500 since 2014. “Our longstanding grant giving and volunteer partnership with Meals on Wheels is one of several ways that Bank of America is able to address the cri cal issue of food insecurity that is far too pervasive across our state. Comba ng hunger is Cecilia Meggs of Lighthouse Ministries accepts a dona on essen al to making our comfrom First Reliance branch manager Reuben E. Hewi Jr., le , munity more vibrant and susand rela onship banker Dwayne Brockington. 26

South Atlan c Bank South Atlan c Bank sponsored the Grand Strand Miracle Leagues’ Baseball and BBQ Fall Opener on Sept. 8 at the Pepper Geddings Recrea on Center Complex on the James C. Benton Miracle League Field between Oak Street and 33rd Avenue North in Myrtle Beach. This year marked the seventh consecu ve year the bank has sponsored the Grand Strand Miracle Leagues’ Baseball and See Samaritans, Page 28

News

Survey Shows Consumers Embracing Mobile Deposit One in three Americans have deposited a check using a mobile device within the past year, according to a new survey by the American Bankers Associa on. Of those who have used mobile deposit, 62 percent report using it at least once per month. “Mobile deposit is more sophiscated and user-friendly than ever before, which goes a long way toward explaining its popularity with today’s tech-savvy consumers,” said Nessa Feddis, ABA’s senior vice president and deputy chief counsel for consumer protec on and payments. “With a quick snap, you can deposit your check in the house, at work or on the go.” Thirty-five percent of consumers replied “yes” when asked, “In the past twelve months, have you deposited a check into your bank account by taking

a picture of the check with your mobile device?” Those who responded yes provided the following responses when asked “How o en?”: • Once per month – 26 percent; • Twice per month – 27 percent; • Three or more mes per month – 9 percent; and

• Less than once per month – 38 percent. Feddis noted that innova ons like mobile banking and mobile deposit are driven by consumer preferences. “Consumers value convenience and banks have responded with digital financial management tools like mobile deposit that make banking quick, easy and secure,” Feddis said. “Banks will con nue accommoda ng diverse customer needs and preferences through mul ple convenient channels, with a special emphasis on expanding and enhancing their digital services,” Feddis added. The survey of 1,000 U.S. adults was conducted for the American Bankers Associa on by Ipsos Public Aﬀairs, an independent market research firm, Aug. 8-10, 2016.

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Bank receives a simple floating rate payment

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704.496.2612 704.607.4737 5960 Fairview Road, Suite 400 Charlotte, North Carolina 28210 www.csbcorrespondent.com

Leverage CenterState’s marketing, pricing and structuring support.

Good Samaritans Samaritans BBQ Fall Opener, and South Atlan c’s 75 employees set a new bank record this year with a dona on of $7,116. The Miracle Leagues organiza on was founded in 2001 to provide people with special needs the opportunity to play and enjoy the game of baseball.

for over 450 teachers and 200 ar sts, and has funded classroom arts-integrated units impac ng over 26,000 students. With the TD Center for Arts Integra on, TD Bank and the Metropolitan Arts Council are ensuring the connued use of arts integra on – oﬀering teachers the tools to engage students in deeper learning and equipping them with the cri cal skills needed for success in the workforce.

South State Bank South State Bank contributed $100,000 to the South State Emergency Relief Fund A $12,500 gi from TD to assist those impacted by Charitable Founda on, the Hurricane Ma hew. charitable giving arm of TD The fund was established Bank, will support students exactly one year ago to supThe South Carolina Bankers Associa on was recognized by the through the Achieving the port vic ms of the massive United Way for the fi h straight year with the nonprofit’s flooding that impacted so Pacese er Award. Pacese ers are companies and organiza ons Dream ini a ve at Greenville many communi es across that complete United Way campaigns in early September each Technical College. The gi South Carolina. The Fund year and commit to at least a 10 percent increase in par cipa on/ has allowed the college to provides an organized employee giving. Shown are SCBA Senior Vice President E. Anne purchase toolboxes used to method to allocate financial Gillespie and BB&T South Carolina President and United Way of set up machines for CNC Machine Operator classes. These support quickly during future the Midlands board member Mike Brenan. toolboxes directly impact disasters. student success. Connect to College provides students South State will be partnerwith intensive support services that ing with local nonprofit organiza ons The TD Charitable Founda on recently build confidence and foster their sucto provide financial assistance from the made a $50,000 dona on to the Choosy Relief Fund to communi es impacted by cess in a collegiate learning environFarm to Belly project, an innova ve ment. Hurricane Ma hew. 30-week program at the North Franklin Road Head Start Center designed to South State Bank made a $5,000 dona- TD Bank, N.A. educate and encourage healthy ea ng on to support Tri-County Technical The Metropolitan Arts Council and habits in children as young as 3 years College’s Connect to College program, TD Bank have launched the TD Center old by introducing children to fresh which provides academically capable for Arts Integra on in support of the youth between the ages of 17 and 20 SmartARTS, an arts-integra on program vegetables and fruits. The program was begun by the Chilthe opportunity to simultaneously earn with Greenville County Schools. Smartdren’s Hospital of Greenville Health Systheir high school diploma and college ARTS began in 2002 with three federal tem, Clemson University and more than credit, up to and including a post-secgrants totaling $2.1 million and is a col10 community partners and volunteers ondary creden al. The first-of-its-kind labora on venture whose mission is to in response to skyrocke ng obesity program in South Carolina, Connect to connect students, ar sts and teachers rates. The program gives preschoolers’ College is for students who, for a variety to deeper learning and self-awareness families weekly recipe bags and asked of reasons, have faced diﬃcult chalthrough integra ng the arts with all that families cook the food together as lenges in tradi onal high school enviareas of educa on. “homework.” ronments. Since 2002 it has provided training

Symposium Through a endance at the third annual Women in Banking Leadership Symposium women banking leaders gleaned a great deal of useful informa on not 28

just about banking and business, but about overcoming obstacles beyond the corporate world, as well, said SCBA Senior Vice President E. Anne Gillespie.

“In addi on, there were many networking opportuni es, along with chances to meet new people and reconnect with old friends,” Gillespie added.

South Carolina Bankers Association Education Calendar For more information, contact Anne Gillespie by phone at 803.779.0850, or by email at agillespie@scbankers.org.

November 2016 Economic Developers Conference Date: November 15, 2016 Loca on: Charleston Marrio Charleston, S.C. Interest Rate Risk Workshop Date: Nov. 17, 2016 Loca on: Inn @ USC Wyndham Garden Columbia, S.C.

December 2016 CECL Seminar Date: Dec. 1, 2016 Loca on: Columbia Marrio Columbia, S.C. January 2017 Legisla ve Recep on Date: Jan. 10, 2017 Loca on: Columbia, S.C. BSA/AML Conference Date: Jan. 25-26, 2017 Loca on: Courtyard Columbia Downtown @ USC Columbia, S.C. Commercial Lending School Date: Jan. 31-Feb. 2, 2017 Loca on: Courtyard Columbia Downtown @ USC Columbia, S.C.

February 2017 Banking Careers 101 Date: Feb. 8, 2017 Loca on: Seawellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Columbia, S.C. Safety & Soundness Workshop Date: Feb. 9, 2017 Loca on: Columbia, S.C. Human Resources Conference Date: Feb. 16, 2017 Loca on: Columbia, S.C.

March 2017 Young Bankers Conference Date: March 10-12, 2017 Loca on: Ritz-Carlton Reynolds, Lake Oconee, Greensboro, Ga.

Directors & Managers Workshop Date: March 14, 2017 Loca on: Columbia, S.C. Washington Summit Date: March 20-22, 2017 Loca on: Washington Marrio Marquis Washington, D.C. Spring Compliance Conference Date: March 2017 Loca on: Columbia, S.C.

April 2017 Bank Opera ons Conference Date: April 6, 2017 Loca on: Columbia, S.C. Trust and Wealth Management Conference Date: April 25, 2017 Loca on: Columbia, S.C. Community Bankers Spring Peer Group Date: TBA Loca on: TBA

May 2017 Asset Liability Conference Date: May 3, 2017 Loca on: Columbia, S.C. June 2017 SCBA Annual Conven on Date: June 8-11, 2017 Loca on: The Ritz-Carlton Naples, Fla. July 2017 South Carolina Bankers School Date: July 9-14, 2017 Loca on: Lander University Greenwood, S.C.

South Carolina Bankers Associa on (2009 Park Street) Post Oﬃce Box 1483 Columbia, South Carolina, 29202-1483

SCBA WASHINGTON TRIP

MARCH 20-22, 2017 The South Carolina Bankers AssociaƟon’s annual Washington, D.C., trip oīers bankers the chance to travel to our naƟon’s capital, talk with members of our state delegaƟon, meet with regulators and make certain those in power understand our concerns. Last year, some 30 bankers took part in the excursion and enjoyed extended sessions with several South Carolina congressmen. Don’t miss out on this unusual opportunity to make your voice heard.

For more InformaƟon on the 2016 SCBA Washington Trip, please contact Anne Gillespie at the South Carolina Bankers AssociaƟon at 803.779.0850, or by email at agillespie@scbankers.org.