BNC Bancorp is doubling its branch presence in the competitive Charlotte banking market by adding a 12,000-square-foot branch that also will serve as a regional hub.
The branch in the SouthPark area of Charlotte will offer retail and private banking, as well as commercial loan, regional credit, business services and wealth advisory services.
The branch is expected to open in the fourth quarter. It will absorb a loan-production office already at SouthPark.
The branch also will support branches in Concord, Harrisburg and Mooresville, David Spencer, BNC's chief financial officer, said Friday. The bank recently opened a branch on Carmel Road, which is near its mortgage department headquarters for the market.
"We believe this intersection, which also has Ruth's Chris and Del Frisco on opposite corners, is one of the premier spots in SouthPark," Spencer said.
"We believe this visibility, and the investment in the facility, is sending a message to those in Charlotte, whether it's bankers, customers or investors, that BNC is the place to be for all the right reasons."
It is the second time in about a month that BNC has announced expansion plans in a major metro area of the state.
In December, it said it was buying KeySource Commercial Bank of Durham in a $12.2 million stock deal. Counting its Raleigh branch, it would have two branches in the Triangle.
The deal for KeySource is similar to BNC's $9.75 million cash purchase of the stock of the Regent Bank franchise in Greenville, S.C. That deal, announced in September, is expected to close in the first quarter.
In October, BNC took over the failed Blue Ridge Savings Bank Inc. of Asheville and its $161 million in assets in a deal brokered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Once the KeySource deal is approved, BNC will have 26 branches in 19 North Carolina cities and six branches in four South Carolina cities. It also will have about $2.6 billion in total assets, making it one of the largest community banks in the Triad and North Carolina.
Rick Callicutt, the bank's chief operating officer, said the bank is at "about a $500 million platform in the Charlotte-area market, and we have a goal of $1.5 billion there."
Callicutt said BNC is preparing to open a branch in the Matthews area that it acquired from Fifth Third Bank.
Tony Plath, a finance professor at UNC Charlotte, said BNC's expansion in Charlotte is well-timed.
"The community bank competition here is still sharp," Plath said.
"However, the big banks, particularly Bank of America, are still preoccupied with the residential real estate crisis, and the community banks are under lots of stress and additional regulatory scrutiny.
"That means the pickings are ripe for BNC to show up with plenty of extra capital, an external market focus, and a willingness to make a few loans and take a little risk in this market."
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