Private Bank of Buckhead in Atlanta has been given the green light to open its second branch.
State regulators approved the opening of the Private Bank of Decatur earlier this year while the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. gave the go-ahead on Wednesday, the $187 million-asset Private Bank said Thursday.
The Private Bank of Decatur will be run by Judy Turner, who helped form Decatur First Bank in 1996 and served as its president until it failed last year. Two other Decatur First bankers, Melanie Funk and Jamie Ensley, have also joined Private Bank of Decatur.
"Since the launch of Private Bank of Buckhead, we have said that our strategy might eventually include physical expansion into other markets and this expansion is driven by the availability of great banking talent," Charlie Crawford, chief executive and chairman of the Private Bank of Buckhead, said in a news release. "We became aware of seasoned bankers who have long served the Decatur market and wanted to continue to do so from the strength of an organization like ours."
Turner's former bank, Decatur First, lost roughly $20 million in the three years after being hard hit by Georgia's real estate downturn. It was
Crawford said that the branch should open as soon as renovations to the location are completed.
The Atlanta Business Chronicle first
