United Community Bank posts $46.7 million loss

The bad news just keeps coming for Georgia banks.

United Community Bank, the state’s third-largest bank, said Friday it lost $46.7 million in the fourth quarter, or 99 cents per share, as it saw more housing-related loans go bad.

The announcement came a day after Georgia’s two biggest banks, SunTrust and Synovus, reported big losses also largely tied to real estate woes.

United Community finished its second-straight quarter in the red, following a $40 million loss in the third quarter. For the year, the bank lost $63.5 million, or $1.35 per share, compared to a profit of $58 million in 2007.

Blairsville-based United Community has a sizable presence in metro Atlanta, which accounts for about 30 percent of the company’s loans. Jimmy Tallent, the bank’s president and CEO, said the troubled Atlanta housing market is largely to blame for the company’s poor results.

“The environment is not getting better,” Tallent said in a company news release. “Despite this, our strategy will be the same — to recognize and move troubled assets through our process as quickly as possible.”

Tallent said he expected the problems to continue “in the quarters ahead.”

In the fourth quarter, the bank charged off $74 million in bad loans and socked away another $85 million to protect against future loan losses. The bank’s total portfolio of nonperforming assets stood at $250 million in the fourth quarter, up from $178 million in the third quarter.

Despite the losses, United Community remains well-capitalized, in part because of last month’s decision to sell a $180 million stake to the U.S. Treasury as part of the government’s effort to stabilize the banking industry.

“Our strong capital position enables us to absorb losses without impairing the company’s financial soundness,” Tallent said.

United’s stock price fell 7 percent Friday to $6.62 per share. The stock’s price has fallen by 62 percent in the last year.