United Community Bank

United Community Banks, Inc.

Company type	Public
Industry	Banking, Financial services
Founded	1949
Headquarters	Greenville , United States
Area served	Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee
Key people	Jimmy C. Tallent (President in 1984)
Products	Mortgage lending, deposit accounts, NOW accounts, money market funds, checking and savings accounts, advisory services, treasury management, corporate/commercial banking, private banking, wealth management, SBA loans, equipment financing

United Community Banks, Inc. stands as a prominent American financial institution based in Greenville, South Carolina. It manages assets totaling $27.7 billion and operates 243 branches throughout Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. By asset size, it ranks as the largest bank headquartered within South Carolina.

Products

United offers an extensive selection of banking solutions for consumers, businesses, and corporations. These include mortgage lending, interest and non-interest bearing deposit accounts, NOW accounts, money market funds, as well as checking and savings accounts. The bank also provides advisory services and treasury management. Its Corporate/Commercial Banking division caters specifically to business clientele. Additional segments encompass United Community Private Bank, Wealth Management services, the SBA Group, and equipment financing through its fully owned subsidiary Navitas Credit Corp.

History

The bank originated in 1949 as Union County Bank in Blairsville, Georgia. By 1984, under the leadership of President Jimmy C. Tallent, it held $42 million in assets. United Community Banks was formally established in 1987 and grew through targeted acquisitions including Union County Bank (1988), Citizens Bank of Murphy (1990), White County Bank (1995), along with other institutions across Georgia and North Carolina during the 1990s.

Following regulatory changes in Georgia’s banking laws, the company pivoted towards expanding its branch network while still pursuing acquisitions like First Clayton Bank and Trust in 1997. Between 1999 and 2000, UCB acquired Adairsville Bancshares, 1st Floyd Bank, North Point Bancshares Inc., Independent Bancshares Inc., and the consumer finance division of Lendmark Financial Services.

The company went public on Nasdaq in 2002. Subsequent purchases included First Georgia Holding Inc. for $42 million and First Central Bank of Lenoir City in 2003; Fairbanco Holding Co. for $24.7 million; Eagle National Bank for $12.4 million; and Liberty National Bancshares Inc. for $42.5 million by 2004 when total assets reached $5 billion.

UCB’s initial public stock offering took place in 2005. Following this were significant acquisitions such as Southern Bancorp via a $67.8 million stock transaction in 2006; Gwinnett Commercial Group for $222.9 million in 2007; Southern Community Bank’s assets through a $31 million FDIC-assisted deal in 2009; Business Carolina Inc.’s assets for $31.3 million in 2014; MoneyTree Corporation and First National Bank of Lenoir City both in 2015; alongside the merger with Palmetto Bancshares that same year.

In 2017, UCB expanded by acquiring Four Oaks Fincorp for $124 million, adding fourteen branches in North Carolina along with $737 million in assets. The following year saw acquisitions of NLFC Holdings Corp. and Navitas Credit Corp., totaling $130 million.

The purchase of Three Shores Bancorporation and its subsidiary Seaside Bank in 2020 brought fourteen new locations in Florida to UCB’s portfolio; by August 2023 Seaside had been fully rebranded under United Community.

January 2021 marked the announcement of relocating UCB’s corporate headquarters to downtown Greenville with a planned investment of $65 million.

In October 2021, UCB completed a $131 million acquisition of Aquesta Financial Holdings Inc., increasing combined assets to $18.6 billion.

The merger with Reliant Bancorp was finalized in January 2022.

In May 2022, UCB revealed plans to merge with Progress Bank & Trust from Huntsville, Alabama, with completion anticipated later that year.

By July 2023, United Community Banks underwent a rebranding initiative to become United Community, introducing a new logo aligned with its evolving strategic direction and market identity.