SUFFOLK, Va., Dec. 6, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hampton Roads based TowneBank (Nasdaq:TOWN) announced that, at the close of business on December 3, 2010, it completed the previously announced acquisition of the six banking offices of The Bank of Currituck, including all deposit accounts representing approximately $155 million. Selected loans were also included totaling $86 million, before purchase accounting adjustments.
The former Bank of Currituck headquartered in Moyock, North Carolina reopened today as a member of TowneBank's Hometown Banking Group under the name of TowneBank of Currituck serving Moyock, Grandy, Camden, Southern Shores, Corolla and Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina.
Stanley D. Griggs, current Chairman of The Bank of Currituck, was named as Chairman of the Board of the new TowneBank of Currituck. He will be joined on the board by Sam T. Moore, Jr., retired CEO of The Bank of Currituck, along with fellow directors, J. Martin Jarvis, W. E. Curling, Sr., Jerry L. Old, F. Paul Old, Jr., and J. Wesley Peoples, Jr. Also serving on the board will be TowneBank director, Judge Richard S. Bray, and TowneBank executives, G. Robert Aston, Jr., J. Morgan Davis, Cecil E. Hobbs, Jr. and R. Scott Morgan. Hobbs, formerly Executive Vice President of TowneBank of Virginia Beach, has been named Regional President for the North Carolina bank.
"Having The Bank of Currituck join our TowneBank family is a unique opportunity for our bank to expand our special style of hometown banking into Northeastern North Carolina including the Outer Banks," stated G. Robert Aston, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "It fits perfectly into our strategic goal of serving those communities within the reach of the Hampton Roads media market stretching from Williamsburg to the Outer Banks."
Under the terms of the transaction, The Bank of Currituck has surrendered its banking charter and will be renamed Currituck Resolution Properties, Inc. The corporation will continue to manage the assets it retained in the transaction including foreclosed properties, non-performing and performing loans of approximately $31 million. It anticipates liquidation of its assets over the next three years and distributing any excess funds to its shareholders at that time. Current Bank of Currituck shareholders will be receiving $50.00 per share from the consummation of the transaction with TowneBank. At closing, TowneBank paid approximately $8 million in an all cash transaction. TowneBank expects the acquisition to be accretive to earnings during the first full year.
"Excitement is in the air here in Currituck," said Stanley Griggs, Chairman of the Bank of Currituck. "We are proud to be a member of the TowneBank family. Working together, we will continue our commitment to improving the quality of life for our neighbors and friends here in our community."
As one of the top community banks in Virginia and North Carolina, TowneBank will now be operating 26 banking offices serving Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, James City County and York County in Virginia along with Moyock, Grandy, Camden, Southern Shores, Corolla and Kill Devil Hills in North Carolina. Towne also offers a full range of financial services through its controlled divisions and subsidiaries that include Towne Investment Group, Towne Insurance Agency, TFA Benefits, TowneBank Mortgage, TowneBank Commercial Mortgage, Prudential Towne Realty, Towne 1031 Exchange, LLC, and Corolla Classic Vacations. Through its strategic partnership with William E. Wood and Associates, the bank also offers mortgage services in all of their offices in Hampton Roads and Northeastern North Carolina. Local decision-making is a hallmark of its hometown banking strategy that is delivered through the leadership of each group's President and Board of Directors. With total assets of $3.7 billion as of September 30, 2010, TowneBank is one of the largest banks headquartered in Virginia.
Forward-Looking Statements:
This release contains forward-looking statements as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may address issues that involve significant risks, uncertainties, estimates and assumptions made by management. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements include competitive pressures in the banking industry that may increase significantly; changes in the interest rate environment may reduce margins and/or the volumes and values of loans made or held as well as the value of other financial assets held; general economic conditions, either nationally or regionally, may be less favorable than expected, resulting in, among other things, a deterioration in credit quality and/or a reduced demand for credit or other services; changes in the legislative or regulatory environment, including changes in accounting standards, may adversely affect our business; costs or difficulties; related to the integration of the business and the businesses we have acquired may be greater than expected; expected cost savings associated with pending or recently completed acquisitions may not be fully realized or realized within the expected time frame; our competitors may have greater financial resources and develop products that enable them to compete more successfully; changes in business conditions, changes in the securities market and changes in our local economy with regards to our market area and its heavy concentration of U. S. military bases and related personnel. We assume no obligation to update information contained in this release.
CONTACT: TowneBank G. Robert Aston, Chairman and CEO 757-638-6780 Clyde E. McFarland, Jr., Senior Executive Vice President and CFO 757-638-6801