Greenville-based Southern First Bancshares Inc., holding company for Southern First Bank, said it is expanding to Raleigh, North Carolina, and the greater Triangle market, its first foray outside South Carolina.
Bank officials said they intend to establish a loan production office initially and then a full-service office.
Southern First is “excited to expand into one of the strongest markets in the Southeast as we enter the Raleigh/Triangle community,” said CEO Art Seaver.
Jonathan Taylor, executive vice president and a veteran Triangle market executive, will lead the expansion, Southern First officials said.
Taylor has more than 20 years of banking experience in the Triangle market, most recently as a banking executive with Paragon Bank. He is a graduate of Appalachian State University, where he also received his graduate degree.
Mike Stellar, senior vice president, and Monica Navarro, vice president, are joining Southern First’s Triangle market leadership team.
Stellar is a graduate of North Carolina State University and has more than 20 years of banking experience in the Triangle area. Navarro is a graduate of Florida International University and has more than 15 years of banking experience in the Triangle market, including treasury management and private banking services.
Southern First, the third-largest bank headquartered in South Carolina, operates in nine locations in Greenville, Columbia and Charleston.
Southern First Bancshares has assets of approximately $1.3 billion. Its common stock is traded in the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “SFST.”
