Atlantic Coast Financial Corporation was an American publicly traded bank holding company headquartered in
Jacksonville
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
(a Maryland corporation) and listed on the
NASDAQ Stock Market
The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...
(), which wholly owned Atlantic Coast Bank. In 2018,
Ameris Bancorp
Ameris Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Atlanta. Through its bank subsidiary, Ameris Bank, the company operates full-service branches in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina, and mortgage-only locations i ...
completed its acquisition of Atlantic Coast Bank.
The banks services were focused primarily on
personal banking
Retail banking, also known as consumer banking or personal banking, is the provision of services by a bank to the general public, rather than to companies, corporations or other banks, which are often described as wholesale banking. Banking servi ...
and
business banking
A commercial bank is a financial institution which accepts deposit (finance), deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make profit (economics), profit.
It can also refer to a bank, or a division ...
in the
Northeast Florida
Florida's First Coast, or simply the First Coast, is a region of the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida. The First Coast refers to the same general area as the directional region of Northeast Florida. It roughly ...
,
Central Florida
Central Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, including the Tampa Bay area and the Gr ...
and
Southeast Georgia
Southeast Georgia is a nineteen-county region located south of the Altamaha River in the U.S. state of Georgia. The 2010 census calculated the region's population to be at 523,905. The largest city in this region is Valdosta and the largest count ...
regions. The company has been recognized by the Jacksonville Business Journal as one of north Florida's "Best Places to Work" in both 2015 and 2016, and was also selected as one of Florida's "Best Companies" by Florida Trend Magazine in July 2016.
Offices and branches
Atlantic Coast Bank maintains offices throughout Central and North Florida and Southeast Georgia. The company operates seven branches and one administrative office (which includes a stand-alone ATM) in
Northeast Florida
Florida's First Coast, or simply the First Coast, is a region of the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida. The First Coast refers to the same general area as the directional region of Northeast Florida. It roughly ...
and three branches in
Southeast Georgia
Southeast Georgia is a nineteen-county region located south of the Altamaha River in the U.S. state of Georgia. The 2010 census calculated the region's population to be at 523,905. The largest city in this region is Valdosta and the largest count ...
. The
Northeast Florida
Florida's First Coast, or simply the First Coast, is a region of the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida. The First Coast refers to the same general area as the directional region of Northeast Florida. It roughly ...
branches include
Neptune Beach
Neptune Beach is a beachfront city east of Jacksonville in Duval County, Florida, United States. When the majority of Duval County communities consolidated with Jacksonville in 1968, Neptune Beach, along with Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach ...
,
Jacksonville Beach
Jacksonville Beach is a coastal resort city in Duval County, Florida, United States. It was incorporated on May 22, 1907, as Pablo Beach, and would later change its name to Jacksonville Beach in 1925. The city is part of group of communities coll ...
, the
southside of Jacksonville, the
westside of Jacksonville,
Arlington,
Julington Creek and
Orange Park. The
Southeast Georgia
Southeast Georgia is a nineteen-county region located south of the Altamaha River in the U.S. state of Georgia. The 2010 census calculated the region's population to be at 523,905. The largest city in this region is Valdosta and the largest count ...
branches include two in
Waycross and one in
Douglas
Douglas may refer to:
People
* Douglas (given name)
* Douglas (surname)
Animals
*Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking
*Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...
. In addition, Atlantic Coast Bank has mortgage and commercial loan production offices in
Orlando, Florida
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...
,
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida, with a population of 141,085 in 2020. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gaine ...
,
Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
,
Saint Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa, Florida, T ...
,
Saint Simons Island, Georgia
St. Simons Island (or simply St. Simons) is a barrier island and census-designated place (CDP) located on St. Simons Island in Glynn County, Georgia, United States. The names of the community and the island are interchangeable, known simply as ...
and
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...
, and has an SBA & USDA Lending office in
Orlando, Florida
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...
, which funds small business loans throughout the Southeast U.S.
Banking and financial services
Atlantic Coast Bank is a full service community bank operating three distinct lines of business: Commercial Banking, Retail (Branch) Banking, and Residential Mortgage Lending. The Bank's specific services include, but are not limited to,
deposit account
A deposit account is a bank account maintained by a financial institution in which a customer can deposit and withdraw money. Deposit accounts can be savings accounts, current accounts or any of several other types of accounts explained below.
...
s,
mortgage loan
A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any p ...
s,
auto loan
Auto may refer to:
* An automaton
* An automobile
* An autonomous car
* An automatic transmission
* An auto rickshaw
* Short for automatic
* Auto (art), a form of Portuguese dramatic play
* ''Auto'' (film), 2007 Tamil comedy film
* Auto (play), ...
s,
personal loans
In finance, unsecured debt refers to any type of debt or general obligation that is not protected by a guarantor, or collateralized by a lien on specific assets of the borrower in the case of a bankruptcy or liquidation or failure to meet the t ...
,
credit card
A credit card is a payment card issued to users (cardholders) to enable the cardholder to pay a merchant for goods and services based on the cardholder's accrued debt (i.e., promise to the card issuer to pay them for the amounts plus the o ...
s,
commercial loan
In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that de ...
s,
USDA loans,
SBA loans,
warehouse lending, and
wealth management
Wealth management (WM) or wealth management advisory (WMA) is an investment advisory service that provides financial management and wealth advisory services to a wide array of clients ranging from affluent to high-net-worth (HNW) and ultra-high- ...
.
History
The bank first opened its doors in 1939 as Atlantic Coast Federal Credit Union in
Waycross, Georgia
Waycross is the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Ware County in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population was 14,725 at the 2010 Census and dropped to 13,942 in the 2020 census.
Waycross includes two historic districts (Downtown ...
, servicing the employees of the
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967 it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast L ...
.
In November 2000, after receiving the necessary regulatory and membership approvals, Atlantic Coast Federal Credit Union converted to a federal mutual savings bank known as Atlantic Coast Federal. The conversion allowed Atlantic Coast Federal to diversify its customer base by marketing products and services to individuals and businesses within its market areas.
In January 2003, Atlantic Coast Federal Corporation was organized for the purpose of acquiring all of the capital stock that Atlantic Coast Federal issued upon its mutual holding company reorganization from the mutual to stock form of ownership. In October 2004, Atlantic Coast Federal Corporation completed a minority stock offering in which it sold 5,819,000 shares, or 40%, of its common stock to eligible depositors and Atlantic Coast Federal Corporation’s Employee Stock Option Plan. The remaining majority of the 14,547,500 outstanding shares were owned by Atlantic Coast Federal, MHC, a federally chartered mutual holding company.
In July 2006, Atlantic Coast Federal, now a federally chartered stock savings association, was renamed Atlantic Coast Bank, to better reflect the nature of its operations.
In February 2011, the second step of the conversion from the mutual holding company structure was completed, along with a related public offering. As a result of the conversion, Atlantic Coast Federal, MHC and Atlantic Coast Federal Corporation, the holding companies of Atlantic Coast Bank, were merged into Atlantic Coast Financial Corporation, a Maryland corporation. Atlantic Coast Bank is 100% owned by Atlantic Coast Financial Corporation, and Atlantic Coast Financial Corporation is 100% owned by public stockholders ().
In February 2013, Bond Street Holdings and its bank subsidiary,
Florida Community Bank
Florida Community Bank, also known as FCB, was an American bank based in Weston, Florida that provided consumer and business banking services to communities throughout the state. With roots tracing back to 1923, the legacy Florida Community Bank w ...
, attempted to acquire Atlantic Coast Financial Corporation and Atlantic Coast Bank. The deal was voted down by Atlantic Coast Financial Corporation's shareholders in June 2013.
In November 2013, the Board hired John K. Stephens, Jr., as President and CEO, to initiate a recapitalization and turnaround strategy. In December 2013, Atlantic Coast Financial Corporation raised $48.3 million in a public stock offering (Nasdaq: "ACFC") by issuing 12,880,000 shares of its common stock. Net proceeds from the public offering were $44.9 million, the majority of which was contributed to Atlantic Coast Bank to improve capital ratios, to support growth in the Bank's loan and investment portfolios, and for general corporate purposes. The company simultaneously divested the majority of its nonperforming assets, resulting in a recapitalized, clean balance sheet.
During 2014, the company started a residential mortgage lending group and restaffed its commercial bank. Additionally, in June 2015, the company restructured and refinanced over $160 million in long-term debt to reduce expenses and mitigate risk. These actions have contributed to the company's return to profitability and stability.
In December 2016, the Bank consummated the conversion of its charter from that of a federally-chartered savings bank to that of a Florida state-chartered commercial bank supervised by the Florida Office of Financial Regulation and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Atlantic Coast Bank has been recognized by the Jacksonville Business Journal as one of north Florida's "Best Places to Work" in both 2015 and 2016, and John Stephens was named one of the region's "Ultimate CEOs". The company was also selected as one of Florida's "Best Companies" by Florida Trend Magazine in July 2016.
Community Involvement
Atlantic Coast Bank supports the following organizations and initiatives in
Northeast Florida
Florida's First Coast, or simply the First Coast, is a region of the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida. The First Coast refers to the same general area as the directional region of Northeast Florida. It roughly ...
,
Central Florida
Central Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, including the Tampa Bay area and the Gr ...
and
Southeast Georgia
Southeast Georgia is a nineteen-county region located south of the Altamaha River in the U.S. state of Georgia. The 2010 census calculated the region's population to be at 523,905. The largest city in this region is Valdosta and the largest count ...
:
*
United Way of America
United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public, prior to 2016.
United Way organizations raise funds ...
*
HabiJax
HabiJax of Jacksonville, Florida, is one of the larger affiliates of Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) in the United States. Habijax was named the 8th largest homebuilder in the United States by ''Builder Magazine'' for 2009.
The program ...
, a local
Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a US non-governmental, and nonprofit organization which was founded in 1976 by couple Millard and Linda Fuller. Habitat for Humanity is a Ch ...
program in
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...
Get Smart About CreditDay, an
American Bankers Association Education Foundation program. The 2017 date is October 19.
Teach Children to SaveDay, an
American Bankers Association Education Foundation program. The 2017 date is April 28.
[http://www.aba.com/Engagement/Pages/teachchildrentosave.aspx]
* Kilwins Ice Cream Run, a 5K race (and 1 mile Fun Run/Walk) to benefit Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech in
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...
(Bronze Sponsor in 2015)
References
External links
Official website
{{Jacksonville Corporations
Ameris Bancorp
American companies established in 1939
Banks established in 1939
2018 mergers and acquisitions
Banks based in Jacksonville, Florida