Georgian bank names Poelker as new CEO

Veteran banking executive and consultant John Poelker has been named president and CEO of Georgian Bank as part of a management shake-up.

The Atlanta lender, one of the largest community banks in the state, tumbled into the red in the first quarter amid a rising tide of troubled real estate loans. The bank, which has $2.3 billion in assets, reported an $8.3 million loss in the first quarter along with $50 million in noncurrent loans.

The bank also named Lynn Darby chairman of Georgian Bancorp. and Don Rolader chairman of Georgian Bank.

Poelker succeeds Gordon Teel, who has served as Georgian Bank’s president, chairman and CEO.

Poelker, who’s been consulting for Georgian Bank since December, said it may be six to nine months before the real estate market and the economy improves enough for the bank to work through its problem loans and get to the point where it’s growing again.

“This is a very unusual environment we are in here, and there’s no easy answers,” he said.

Poelker has more than 40 years of experience in the financial services industry. He was president and chief financial officer at Citizens & Southern Corp. in Atlanta from 1978 to 1985. Since 2005, he’s operated a consulting firm in Atlanta.

Paul Donsky