ECB Bancorp in Englehard, N.C., announced after the market closed Thursday that it is buying seven branches and $195 million of deposits in North Carolina from Hampton Roads Bancshares Inc. of Norfolk, Va.
Hampton Roads said last month that it would sell 10 branches, as well as its mortgage and insurance subsidiaries, to trim its overhead and focus on its core markets in the Virginia Beach area. Hampton Roads lost nearly $32 million in the first quarter.
The seven branches all former branches of Gateway Bank, which Hampton Roads acquired two years ago. They are in Plymouth, Preston Corners, Chapel Hill, Roper, Lake Boone, Wilmington and Falls of Neuse.
ECB is the $917 million-asset parent of East Carolina Bank, which has 24 branches in North Carolina. In a news release, ECB President and Chief Executive Officer A. Dwight Utz said that the deal would significantly expand the bank's footprint in its home state.
"We believe the Raleigh, Chapel Hill and Plymouth markets will provide strong support for continued organic growth within North Carolina," he said.
ECB did not disclose a deal price. Under terms of the deal expected to close in the fourth quarter, Hampton Roads will close the Roper branch and move the accounts to the Plymouth branch.
