/PRNewswire/ — Southern Community Bank is proud to enter the Richmond market as an office of Sevier County Bank, headquartered in Sevierville, Tennessee. Launching with a team of six seasoned Richmond bankers, the organization has opened its doors as a community bank focused on loans to area businesses, with deposit capabilities soon to follow.
Matt Paciocco has been named Market President of the bank and joining him are: Andy Ferguson, Credit Administration Market Leader; Bill Bien, Senior Lending Officer; Terry Richards, Loan Servicing Manager; Natalie Wilson, Credit Administration Specialist; and Bonnie Howle, Relationship Manager/Treasury Services.
The team at Southern Community Bank has served Richmond as bankers and lenders for more than 20 years and has worked together at a variety of other institutions in the area. Matt Paciocco comments, “We are excited to come together to be the kind of community bank that can serve the needs of Richmond businesses today, and we are thrilled to be part of Sevier County Bank. In our partnership, we have found a bank that shares our vision, our values and our priorities.” Bobby Stoffle, President and CEO of Sevier County Bank echoes that sentiment, “As the oldest bank and business in our county, our mission has been ‘keeping our community in business.’ And we believe that speaks to the heart of what we hope to do for Richmond.”
The bridge between these two banking organizations is John Presley, founding President and CEO of First Market Bank and years later CEO of First Capital Bank. Most of the team at Southern Community Bank has worked with Presley at one, if not both, of these former Richmond banks. Presley has served as Executive Chairman of Sevier County Bank since May of 2019 and since that time he and Stoffle have grown the bank from $290 million in assets to over $400 million today.
“With our vision for continued growth and the opportunity to assemble a solid team that reflects our values, establishing a Richmond office made perfect sense,” said Presley. He added, “Part of my joining Sevier County Bank included organizing a capital raise and the opportunity to collaborate with Ken Lehman, who is now a 40% owner of Sevier County Bank. Ken has been a long-time investor and supporter of community banks, including his very positive experience with members of this team in the Richmond marketplace.”
The response to Southern Community Bank’s arrival has been nothing but positive. Paciocco adds, “We are excited and humbled by the customers already coming our way and enjoying the ability to be small and nimble enough to effectively address their needs. We are putting in place an exciting platform of deposit, treasury and online banking solutions that meet our customers specific needs, and we look forward to rounding out our capabilities with those offerings come spring.”
Southern Community Bank has opened its initial location at 4421 Cox Road in Glen Allen and may be found online at www.southerncommunitybank.com. Sevier County Bank was founded in 1909 and currently has $420 million in assets with six locations in the Sevier County market.
