Essex Bank to sell Georgia offices for around $5.2 million

Essex Bank, a subsidiary of Glen Allen-based Community Bankers Trust Corp., has entered an agreement to sell four of its Georgia offices to Atlanta-based Community & Southern Bank (CSB) for about $5.2 million.

Essex Bank will sell approximately $192 million of related deposits to CSB, a bank with 34 locations in Georgia.  The Bank will not sell any loans to CSB.  The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2013 and is subject to regulatory approval and other customary terms and conditions.

“We acquired the Georgia franchise from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in 2008 when having appropriate amounts of liquidity and core deposits was critical to our business goals at that time,” Rex L. Smith III, president and CEO of Community Bankers Trust Corp. and Essex Bank, said in a statement. “Our strategies, however, have changed over the years, and this divestiture is in line with our long-term plan and allows us to focus solely on what has become our core banking franchises in the Virginia and Maryland markets.”

Essex Bank does not expect to record a material gain or loss in connection with the transaction in 2013.  The sale of the Georgia branches and deposits is expected to result in annual net cost savings of $1.2 million for the bank, which will include the elimination of the amortization of the core deposit intangibles associated with the Georgia franchise.

The four branches will operate normally through completion of the transaction. Customers do not need to take any action. 

Community Bankers Trust Corp. has 13 offices in Virginia, six offices in Maryland and four offices in Georgia.