Staff Report
Published Feb. 1, 2010

SCBT Financial Corp. announced that its bank subsidiary, SCBT, has entered into an agreement with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to assume all the deposits and other liabilities and purchase certain assets of Community Bank & Trust, a community bank headquartered in Cornelia, Ga.

With this acquisition, SCBT will now operate financial centers in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Founded in 1900, Community Bank & Trust is the oldest bank in Habersham County and one of the oldest financial institutions in Northeast Georgia. Community Bank & Trust operates 36 banking locations in Habersham, Hall, White, Rabun, Stephens, Jackson, Banks, Barrow, Oconee, Towns, Troup and Muscogee counties in Georgia.

According to the June 2009 FDIC summary of deposits, Community Bank & Trust ranked seventh in deposits among Georgia-based institutions.

As of Sept. 30, 2009, Community Bank & Trust had approximately $1.2 billion in total assets and $1.1 billion in total deposits. SCBT did not pay the FDIC a premium to assume all of the deposits. The FDIC and SCBT also entered into a loss-sharing agreement covering substantially all of the acquired loans and foreclosed real estate.

SCBT will not acquire any of the assets or assume any liabilities of Community Bank & Trust’s former bank holding company, Community Bankshares Inc., nor its other bank subsidiaries, Community Bank & Trust of West Georgia and Community Bank & Trust of Alabama.

“This is a great step for our company. The addition of Community Bank & Trust’s 36 locations enhances our presence on the I-85 corridor from Charlotte to Atlanta,” said Robert R. Hill Jr., president and CEO of SCBT Financial Corp.

In May 2009, SCBT was one of the first banks in the country to redeem the preferred stock ($64.8 million) and common stock warrant ($1.4 million) issued to the U.S. Treasury under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

SCBT has sent more than 70 employees to work closely with the employees and customers of Community Bank & Trust during the transition. Community Bank & Trust depositors will automatically become depositors of SCBT.

For more information, go online.