We are a financial holding company whose business is conducted primarily through
our wholly owned banking subsidiary, Ameris Bank (the “Bank”), which
provides a full range of banking services to its retail and commercial customers
who are primarily concentrated in select markets in Georgia, Alabama, Florida
and South Carolina. Ameris was incorporated on December 18, 1980 as a Georgia
corporation. The Company’s executive office is located at 310 First St.,
S.E., Moultrie, Georgia 31768, our telephone number is (229) 890-1111 and our
internet address is www.amerisbank.com. We operate 101 domestic banking offices,
with eight of those locations announced to be consolidated within the coming
months. We do not operate in any foreign activities.
Our primary business as a bank holding company is to manage the business and
affairs of the Bank. As a bank holding company, we perform certain shareholder
and investor relations functions and seek to provide financial support, if necessary,
to the Bank.
Our principal subsidiary is the Bank, which is headquartered in Moultrie, Georgia
and operates branches primarily concentrated in select markets in Georgia, Alabama,
Florida and South Carolina. These branches serve distinct communities in our
business areas with autonomy but do so as one bank, leveraging our favorable
geographic footprint in an effort to acquire more customers.
Lending Activities
General. The Company maintains a diversified loan portfolio by providing a broad
range of commercial and retail lending services to business entities and individuals.
We provide agricultural loans, commercial business loans, commercial and residential
real estate construction and mortgage loans, consumer loans, revolving lines
of credit and letters of credit. The Company also originates first mortgage
residential mortgage loans and generally enters into a commitment to sell these
loans in the secondary market. We have not made or participated in foreign,
energy-related or subprime type loans. In addition, the Company does not buy
loan participations or portions of national credits but from time to time, may
acquire balances subject to participation agreements through acquisition.
Commercial Real Estate Loans. This portion of our loan portfolio has grown
significantly over the past few years and represents the largest segment of
our loan portfolio. These loans are generally extended for acquisition, development
or construction of commercial properties. The loans are underwritten with an
emphasis on the viability of the project, the borrower’s ability to meet
certain minimum debt service requirements and an analysis and review of the
collateral and guarantors, if any.
Residential Real Estate Mortgage Loans. Ameris originates adjustable and fixed-rate
residential mortgage loans. These mortgage loans are generally originated under
terms and conditions consistent with secondary market guidelines. Some of these
loans will be placed in the Company’s loan portfolio; however, a majority
are sold in the secondary market. The residential real estate mortgage loans
that are included in the Company’s loan portfolio are usually owner-occupied
and generally amortized over a 10- to 20-year period with three- to five-year
maturity or repricing.
Agricultural Loans. Our agricultural loans are extended to finance crop production,
the purchase of farm-related equipment or farmland and the operations of dairies,
poultry producers, livestock producers and timber growers. Agricultural loans
typically involve seasonal balance fluctuations. Although we typically look
to an agricultural borrower’s cash flow as the principal source of repayment,
agricultural loans are also generally secured by a security interest in the
crops or the farm-related equipment and, in some cases, an assignment of crop
insurance and mortgage on real estate. The lending officer visits the borrower
regularly during the growing season and re-evaluates the loan in light of the
borrower’s updated cash flow projections. A portion of our agricultural
loans is guaranteed by the Farm Service Agency Guaranteed
Loan Program.
Commercial and Industrial Loans. Generally, commercial and industrial loans
consist of loans made primarily to manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers
of goods, service companies, municipalities and other industries. These loans
are made for acquisition, expansion and working capital purposes and may be
secured by real estate, accounts receivable, inventory, equipment, personal
guarantees or other assets. The Company monitors these loans by requesting submission
of corporate and personal financial statements and income tax returns. The Company
has also generated loans which are guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration
(the “SBA”). SBA loans are generally underwritten in the same manner
as conventional loans generated for the Bank’s portfolio. Periodically,
a portion of the loans that are secured by the guaranty of the SBA will be sold
in the secondary market. Management believes that making such loans helps the
local community and also provides Ameris with a source of income and solid future
lending relationships as such businesses grow and prosper. The primary repayment
risk for commercial loans is the failure of the business due to economic or
financial factors.
Consumer Loans. Our consumer loans include motor vehicle, home improvement,
home equity, student and signature loans and small personal credit lines. The
terms of these loans typically range from 12 to 60 months and vary based upon
the nature of collateral and size of the loan. These loans are generally secured
by various assets owned by the consumer.
Credit Administration
We have sought to maintain a comprehensive lending policy that meets the credit
needs of each of the communities served by the Bank, including low and moderate-income
customers, and to employ lending procedures and policies consistent with this
approach. All loans are subject to our corporate loan policy, which is reviewed
annually and updated as needed. The loan policy provides that lending officers
have sole authority to approve loans of various amounts commensurate with their
seniority, experience and needs within the market. Our local market Presidents
have discretion to approve loans in varying principal amounts up to established
limits, and our regional credit officers review and approve loans that exceed
such limits.
Individual lending authority is assigned by the Company’s Chief Credit
Officer, as is the maximum limit of new extensions of credit that may be approved
in each market. These approval limits are reviewed annually by the Company and
adjusted as needed. All requests for extensions of credit in excess of any of
these limits are reviewed by one of four regional credit officers. When the
request for approval exceeds the authority level of the regional credit officer,
the approval of the Company’s Chief Credit Officer and/or the Company’s
loan committee are required. All new loans or modifications to existing loans
in excess of $250,000 are reviewed monthly by the Company’s credit administration
department with the lender responsible for the credit. In addition, our ongoing
loan review program subjects the portfolio to sampling and objective review
by our monthly internal loan review process which is independent of the originating
loan officer.
Each lending officer has authority to make loans only in the market area in
which his or her Bank office is located and its contiguous counties. Occasionally,
our loan committee will approve making a loan outside of the market areas of
the Bank, provided the Bank has a prior relationship with the borrower. Our
lending policy requires analysis of the borrower’s projected cash flow
and ability to service the debt.
We actively market our services to qualified lending customers in both the commercial
and consumer sectors. Our commercial lending officers actively solicit the business
of new companies entering the market as well as longstanding members of that
market’s business community. Through personalized professional service
and competitive pricing, we have been successful in attracting new commercial
lending customers. At the same time, we actively advertise our consumer loan
products and continually seek to make our lending officers more accessible.
The Bank continually monitors its loan portfolio to identify areas of concern
and to enable management to take corrective action when necessary. Local market
Presidents and lending officers meet periodically to review all past due loans,
the status of large loans and certain other credit or economic related matters.
Individual lending officers are responsible for collection of past due amounts
and monitoring any changes in the financial status of the borrowers.
Investment Activities
Our investment policy is designed to maximize income from funds not needed to
meet loan demand in a manner consistent with appropriate liquidity and risk
management objectives. Under this policy, our Company may invest in federal,
state and municipal obligations, corporate obligations, public housing authority
bonds, industrial development revenue bonds, securities issued by Government-Sponsored
Enterprises (“GSEs”) and satisfactorily-rated trust preferred obligations.
Investments in our portfolio must satisfy certain quality criteria. Our Company’s
investments must be “investment-grade” as determined by either Moody’s
or Standard and Poor’s. Investment securities where the Company has determined
a certain level of credit risk are periodically reviewed to determine the financial
condition of the issuer and to support the Company’s decision to continue
holding the security. Our Company may purchase non-rated municipal bonds only
if the issuer of such bonds is located in the Company’s general market
area and such bonds are determined by the Company to have a credit risk no greater
than the minimum ratings referred to above. Industrial development authority
bonds, which normally are not rated, are purchased only if the issuer is located
in the Company’s market area and if the bonds are considered to possess
a high degree of credit soundness. Traditionally, the Company has purchased
and held investment securities with very high levels of credit quality, favoring
investments backed by direct or indirect guarantees of the U.S. Government.
While our investment policy permits our Company to trade securities to improve
the quality of yields or marketability or to realign the composition of the
portfolio, the Bank historically has not done so to any significant extent.
Our investment committee implements the investment policy and portfolio strategies
and monitors the portfolio. Reports on all purchases, sales, net profits or
losses and market appreciation or depreciation of the bond portfolio are reviewed
by our Board of Directors each month. The written investment policy is reviewed
annually by the Company’s Board of Directors and updated as needed.
The Company’s securities are held in safekeeping accounts at approved
correspondent banks.
The Company provides a full range of deposit accounts and services to both retail
and commercial customers. These deposit accounts have a variety of interest
rates and terms and consist of interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing accounts,
including commercial and retail checking accounts, regular interest-bearing
savings accounts, money market accounts, individual retirement accounts and
certificates of deposit. Our Bank obtains most of its deposits from individuals
and businesses in its market areas.
Brokered time deposits are deposits obtained by utilizing an outside broker
that is paid a fee. The Bank utilizes brokered deposits to accomplish several
purposes, such as (i) acquiring a certain maturity and dollar amount without
repricing the Bank’s current customers which could increase or decrease
the overall cost of deposits and (ii) acquiring certain maturities and dollar
amounts to help manage interest rate risk.
Other Funding Sources
The Federal Home Loan Bank (“FHLB”) allows the Company to obtain
advances through its credit program. These advances are secured by securities
owned by the Company and held in safekeeping by the FHLB, FHLB stock owned by
the Company and certain qualifying residential mortgages. The Company has a
revolving credit agreement with a regional bank, secured by subsidiary bank
stock, and the Company maintains credit arrangements with various other financial
institutions to purchase federal funds. The Company participates in the Federal
Reserve discount window borrowings.
The Company also enters into repurchase agreements. These repurchase agreements
are treated as short-term borrowings and are reflected on the Company’s
balance sheet as such.