Ameris Bancorp is a

bank holding company A bank holding company is a company that controls one or more banks, but does not necessarily engage in banking itself. The compound bancorp (''banc''/''bank'' + '' corp ration') is often used to refer to these companies as well. United States ...

headquartered in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

. Through its bank subsidiary, Ameris Bank, the company operates full-service branches in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

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 ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

and

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, and mortgage-only locations in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

, and

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 36th-largest by ...

History

The company was founded on October 1, 1971 in Moultrie, Georgia as American Banking Company by Eugene M. Vereen, Jr. The bank started with one location and $1 million in capital. Vereen said he "envisioned a bank for the future" that "set out to create a collective mindset that doesn't rely on tired banking norms or cookie-cutter solutions." In 1980, ABC Holding Company was formed as a parent company to American Banking Company before changing its name to ABC Bancorp in 1986. Sixteen years after its founding, ABC Bancorp became a public company in 1987 via an initial public offering and in 1994 began trading on the Nasdaq. The company changed to its current name of Ameris Bancorp in 2005. What started as a regional bank in South Georgia began its expansion into neighboring states in 1996 when it branched into Alabama. Four years later, the bank expanded into Florida. In 2006, the bank expanded into South Carolina and into North Carolina in 2020. The bank now maintains 166 full-service branches in those five states combined, with additional mortgage-only locations in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Tennessee. Since 1979, Ameris Bank has successfully completed 35 mergers and acquisitions. That includes the $24.5 million acquisition of Prosperity Banking Company in 2013, the $37.3 million acquisition of Coastal Bankshares in 2014, the $50 million acquisition of Merchants & Southern Banks of Florida in 2015, the $96.4 million acquisition of Jacksonville Bank in 2016, the $169.3 million acquisition of

Atlantic Coast Financial Atlantic Coast Financial Corporation was an American publicly traded bank holding company headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida (a Maryland corporation) and listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market (), which wholly owned Atlantic Coast Bank. In 2018, A ...

in 2018, the $397.1 million acquisition of Hamilton State Bank in 2018 and the $869.3 million acquisition of

Fidelity Southern Corporation Fidelity Southern Corporation was a registered financial holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. It wholly owns Fidelity Bank and the LionMark Insurance Company. As of December 31, 2014, the Company had $3.1 billion in total asset ...

in 2019. Between 2009 and 2012, in transactions organized by the

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is one of two agencies that supply deposit insurance to depositors in American depository institutions, the other being the National Credit Union Administration, which regulates and insures cr ...

, the company acquired American United Bank, United Security Bank, Satilla Community Bank, First Bank of Jacksonville, Darby Bank & Trust, Tifton Banking Company, One Georgia Bank, High Trust Bank, Central Bank of Georgia, and Montgomery Bank & Trust, all of which suffered from

bank failure A bank failure occurs when a bank is unable to meet its obligations to its depositors or other creditors because it has become insolvent or too illiquid to meet its liabilities. A bank usually fails economically when the market value of its asset ...

. Ameris moved its executive team to

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 th ...

in 2016, where they remained for three years before moving to their current headquarters in Atlanta.

PPP Loans

As an SBA-preferred lender, Ameris Bank worked with its commercial customers to provide relief during the 2020-2021 COVID-19 pandemic. The bank originated more than $1.5 billion in

Paycheck Protection Program The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is a $953-billion business loan program established by the United States federal government during the Donald Trump administration in 2020 through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARE ...

(PPP) loans to more than 14,000 businesses, including intentional outreach to more than 400,000 minority and woman-owned businesses.

Ameris Rebrand

In 2019, the bank rebranded and launched a new logo, complete with its now synonymous lion. The lion is a symbol of Ameris Bank's strength and courage, pride and fierce determination. It represents Ameris taking bold steps and diverging from the pack, seeing past decades of tired banking norms for a better way.

References

External links

* * {{NASDAQ Financial-100 1971 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Banks established in 1971 1980s initial public offerings Companies based in Atlanta Banks based in Jacksonville, Florida Companies listed on the Nasdaq Southbank, Jacksonville