SC bank enters into agreement with regulators to improve performance

Here is some news about an SC bank with an office in Myrtle Beach. It just states that the bank must show it is performing well in order to keep its status.






By Dawn Bryant

A Charleston-based bank with a Grand Strand office has become the latest financial institution to enter into a formal agreement with regulators to improve its performance. Atlantic Bank & Trust said today that it entered into the cease and desist order with the Office of Thrift Supervision on Jan. 25. The bank, which has an office in Myrtle Beach, must raise capital and file a new business plan to, among other things, show how it will improve earnings, achieve profitability, reduce overall risk and detail how it will reduce the outstanding balance of its commercial real estate loan portfolio, according to the order.

Nonperforming commercial real estate loans put the bank – as well as others that have signed similar cease and desist orders – in this position, said Wilfrid Daly, the bank’s executive vice president. Plantation Federal Bank in Pawleys Island entered into a cease and desist order last year, as have other banks in South Carolina. A cease and desist order is typically issued after early attempts to repair balance sheets don’t work.Customers shouldn’t notice any differences at the bank or with their accounts, Daly said, adding that they can talk to branch managers if they have concerns. The bank has a branch in Myrtle Beach at 7500 N. Kings Highway. Accounts are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

“It’s business as usual,” Daly said.

The agreement comes after the OTS examined the bank in August, Neal Arnold, the bank’s president and CEO, said in the news release. Bank management had been aware of issues since January 2010 and had taken steps to correct them, Arnold said in the news release
.