Franklin, N.C.-based holding company Entegra Financial Corp. opened its first South Carolina operations with a loan production office in downtown Greenville. Entegra Financial is the $884.4 million-asset holding company for Macon Bank, which operates from 12 locations around North Carolina.
Entegra Financial hired James A. Kimbell as South Carolina market executive to lead the loan office and business development efforts in the Upstate. Kimbell was hired in 2013 to serve as the Anderson market president for Park Sterling.
“We are thrilled to expand our banking franchise into the Upstate South Carolina market with the opening of a loan production office under Mr. Kimbell’s leadership,” said Entegra Financial President and CEO Roger D. Plemens in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. “The opening of our Greenville loan production office is the first step in our strategy to expand into higher growth markets as we continue to maintain focus on providing outstanding customer service and banking products to our current and future customers.”
Entegra Financial completed a stock offering on Sept. 30, 2014, and company shares began trading on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol ENFC on Oct. 1.
Kimbell has more than 25 years of commercial lending experience in South Carolina, mostly on the community bank level, according to SEC filings.
“Our recently announced entry into the Greenville, South Carolina, market is expected to meaningfully contribute to our growth, as we continue to explore additional opportunities to utilize our capital and increase shareholder value,” according to Plemens in a separate SEC filing about Entegra Financial’s fourth-quarter 2014 results.
