BNC Bank
| Company type | Public company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Banking |
| Founded | December 3, 1991 in Thomasville, North Carolina, United States |
| Defunct | September 25, 2017 |
| Fate | Acquired by Pinnacle Financial Partners |
| Headquarters | High Point , United States |
Area served | North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Haiti |
| Products | Banking services |
| Parent | BNC Bancorp (until 2017) |
| Website | www |
BNC Bank was a financial institution headquartered in High Point, North Carolina, United States. As of 2014, its parent company, BNC Bancorp (), managed $4.05 billion in assets and operated 38 branches in North Carolina alongside 13 more in South Carolina. After its most recent acquisition, BNC's assets grew to $6.8 billion, with a network of 87 branches spanning North Carolina (48), South Carolina (29), Virginia (9), and one branch located in Haiti.
Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc., based in Nashville, Tennessee, acquired BNC Bancorp on June 16, 2017. Subsequently, all BNC branches were rebranded as Pinnacle on September 25, 2017.
History
BNC Bank commenced operations under the name Bank of North Carolina in Thomasville, North Carolina on December 3, 1991. Initially, it functioned out of a trailer before relocating to a permanent facility in the fall of 1992.
On December 29, 2001, Bank of North Carolina merged with Independence Bank, which was headquartered in Kernersville. At the time of merger, Bank of North Carolina held $211 million in assets and $171 million in deposits; Independence Bank had $59 million in assets and $52 million in deposits.
BNC Bancorp began trading on the NASDAQ stock exchange on August 1, 2003. By then, it had established branches in Archdale, Lexington, and Oak Ridge. Over the subsequent fifteen years, BNC expanded to 14 branches and reached $1 billion in assets, doubling its size within two and a half years. The headquarters was moved to High Point in 2007.
In May 2011, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted a trademark for BNC Bank, which had been using the BNC brand since 1995.
On September 7, 2012, BNC revealed plans to enlarge its High Point headquarters from 10,000 to 22,500 square feet at Premier Center while retaining some existing space and transferring operations from Thomasville.
During the first quarter of 2014, BNC launched new branches in Raleigh, North Carolina and Greenville, South Carolina. This expansion followed eleven bank acquisitions made since 2010.
The bank operated as Bank of North Carolina outside South Carolina and Virginia—where it used the name BNC Bank—with an objective to unify its branding under the BNC Bank name. However, BNCCORP of North Dakota (doing business as BNC National Bank) challenged this branding change based on trademark rights. In September 2015, BNCCORP filed a federal lawsuit against BNC; BNC responded with a countersuit. The case was dismissed with prejudice in December 2015. Later, in June 2016, a federal judge denied BNCCORP’s request for a restraining order.
On November 1, 2016, Bank of North Carolina completed its full rebranding as BNC Bank across all markets. The updated logo featured a flying cardinal symbolizing progress and expansion.
On January 22, 2017, Pinnacle Financial Partners from Nashville announced plans to acquire BNC Bank. The $1.9 billion transaction closed on June 16, 2017, extending Pinnacle’s footprint into four states. At that point, the BNCCORP trademark dispute was dismissed without prejudice. On September 25, 2017, BNC Bancorp officially changed its corporate name to Pinnacle.
Acquisitions
On February 6, 2006, BNC Bancorp agreed to acquire SterlingSouth Bank & Trust of Greensboro for $36 million. Established in 2000 with $148 million in assets and two branches, SterlingSouth’s acquisition increased BNC’s branch count to ten and assets to approximately $743 million. Additionally, BNC planned new branches in Welcome and Harrisburg near Charlotte.
Other notable acquisitions included Regent Bank located in Greenville, South Carolina; KeySource Commercial Bank based in Durham; and two branches from The Bank of Hampton Roads situated within the Research Triangle area.
Following the failure of Beach First National Bank of Myrtle Beach on April 9, 2010—which held $585.1 million in assets across seven branches—the FDIC facilitated reopening these branches as Bank of North Carolina on April 12. This event marked BNC’s initial entry into South Carolina.
Blue Ridge Savings Bank from Asheville closed on October 14, 2011; it operated ten branches with $160.1 million in assets. BNC acquired nearly all assets and assumed deposits totaling $158.7 million.
In April 2012, BNC inaugurated a branch on Carmel Road in Charlotte. Two months later, it purchased First Trust Bank of Charlotte for $35 million. This acquisition added three branches and $374 million in deposits to BNC’s portfolio—raising Charlotte-area deposits to $589 million.
On June 8, 2012, BNC assumed control over the failed Carolina Federal Savings Bank located in Charleston.
On May 31, 2013, BNC announced plans to acquire Randolph Bank & Trust for $10.4 million; Randolph operated five branches across North Carolina with $302 million in assets.
December 2013 saw two acquisitions: Community First Financial Group (parent company of Harrington Bank) for $24.2 million—adding three branches and $228.5 million in assets—and South Street Financial Corp (owner of Home Savings Bank) for $23.7 million—adding four locations and $274.1 million in assets. These deals elevated BNC’s total assets beyond $3.4 billion with a branch network of forty locations.
On November 17, 2014, BNC announced its inaugural Virginia acquisition: Valley Financial Corporation from Roanoke for $101.3 million. This deal added nine branches along with $857 million in assets (representing about one-fifth of BNC’s pre-acquisition assets) and deposits totaling $682 million; it was finalized on July 1, 2015.
On December 1, 2014, BNC completed a stock transaction valued at $50.6 million to acquire Harbor Bank Group Inc., headquartered in Charleston. This added $325 million in assets and $267 million in deposits along with four branches—three located within Charleston and one in Mount Pleasant—and mortgage offices situated in Mount Pleasant, Greenville, and Hilton Head Island. This acquisition positioned BNC as the ninth-largest bank within the Charleston market.
On August 14, 2015, BNC announced it would acquire Southcoast Financial Corp., based in Mount Pleasant for $95.5 million. This purchase added $506 million worth of assets and pushed total assets beyond the $6 billion mark—making BNC the fifth-largest bank within Charleston’s market area.
The acquisition of seven CertusBank branches was completed on October 19, 2015; these branches held deposits totaling $284 million and expanded BNC’s presence to nineteen locations throughout South Carolina.
BNC finalized its largest acquisition on November 1, 2016 by purchasing High Point Bank & Trust for $141.3 million; this bank held assets worth $795 million at that time. Following this deal three overlapping branches were closed or merged into nearby facilities for operational efficiency.
See also