The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), in conjunction with the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance, continued its 2010 roll of shutting down banks with the January 29, 2010 closing of Community Bank and Trust of Cornelia, GA.

Following the closure, SCBT announced that its bank subsidiary would enter an $827.7 million purchase and assumption agreement to envelope Community Bank & Trust. The 36 branches of the full service Georgian Community Bank & Trust will reopen as branches of SCBT, N.A., but under the name Community Bank & Trust.

The FDIC estimates the cost associated with the bank failure to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $354.5 million. Community Bank & Trust is the second bank in Georgia, and the 13th FDIC-insured institution, to fail during 2010.

BankProspector shows Community Bank & Trust carries a 9% leverage ratio, $12 million in nonaccrual real estate loans, and over $40 million in OREO. Ballooning noncurrent loan portfolio percentages, especially in Construction and Multifamily asset types at 26% and 24% respectively, crippled Cornelia, GA Community Bank & Trust.