A Virginia bank has sold its four Georgia branches to Atlanta-based Community & Southern Bank for $5.2 million.
Essex Bank sold the branches in Loganville, Snellville, Grayson and Covington to the Georgia bank. Community & Southern will acquire $192 million in deposits and no loans. The deal is subject to regulatory approval, and is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
The $5.2 million purchase price is a slight discount to the value of the branches, Essex said in a statement. It will sell the deposits at a 1.33 percent premium.
In a statement, Community & Southern CEO Pat Frawley said the bank appreciates “the strong ties” Essex has with the community.
Essex bought the four branches of The Community Bank, which was headquartered in Loganville and failed in November 2008, the third bank to fail in Georgia at the beginning of the financial crisis.
In a statement, Essex president and CEO Rex L. Smith III said it acquired the bank when it was critical to have deposits. Since then, Essex’s strategy has changed. It will focus on Maryland and Virginia.
The failed Community Bank had assets of $681 million and deposits of $611.4 million.
Community & Southern Bank was founded in 2010, and has 34 banking locations around the state.
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