United Community Banks, Inc. has completed its merger, effective July 1, 2020, with Three Shores Bancorporation, Inc. 

Also, effective July 1, 2020, Three Shores’ bank subsidiary, Seaside National Bank & Trust, merged into United’s bank subsidiary, United Community Bank. However, United Community Bank intends to continue to operate the Seaside locations using the Seaside Bank and Trust brand following conversion to United’s operating systems, which is expected in February 2021. 

The United-Seaside merger is expected to be complementary to both franchises, given the lack of geographic overlap and their differing suites of products and services. United brings to Seaside a broader set of mortgage products and a depth of specialized business lending expertise, including expanded SBA lending and asset-based lending. Seaside brings a robust wealth management platform which will be a natural addition to the services United’s private banking clients enjoy today. 

United’s low-cost funding and strong capital base is expected to enable Seaside to grow its existing business and relationships in Florida. In Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, United plans to supplement its traditional retail branch and commercial model with Seaside’s “branch lite” C&I focus. The expected financial returns of the transaction are not reliant on high cost savings or on revenue synergies. 

Gideon Haymaker, Seaside’s Founder, President and CEO will become United’s President for the State of Florida and will lead the expansion of Seaside’s wealth management offering in the United footprint. 

“We have been looking for an opportunity to enter Florida in the right markets, with the right business model, and most importantly, with the right people. We believe that we have accomplished all of these things with this merger. Since the transaction announcement in March, our relationship with Gideon and his team has become even stronger, and we continue to believe that now more than ever, our combined banks are better together,” said Lynn Harton, Chairman and CEO of United. “We are very excited to have Seaside’s talented team join the United team and help us lead our expansion into Florida.”

Gideon Haymaker stated, "We had discussions with a number of potential partners, but none that we believed was a good fit until we met with the United team. We believe that the United transaction provides an excellent combination of liquidity and a favorable outcome for our investors. It also provides our bank with a larger balance sheet and additional resources that will support the goals of our talented management team. It is also important to note that Seaside and United share the same values and believe in the importance of a service-oriented culture. We look forward to building a premier Florida franchise together and providing our clients with an expanded product suite, delivered with the same high level of client service."

Three Shores operates 14 banking offices, all located in high-growth markets across Florida. At March 31, 2020, Three Shores had $1.8 billion in assets, $1.5 billion in deposits and $1.4 billion in loans. It also had approximately $857 million in assets under advisement.