South Atlantic Bancshares

What South Atlantic Bancshares does

South Atlantic Bancshares, Inc. is a Myrtle Beach, South Carolina-based bank holding company founded in 2007 that operates solely through its wholly-owned subsidiary, South Atlantic Bank. The company delivers traditional community-banking products—personal and business checking, savings, CDs, IRAs, HSAs, consumer loans, mortgages (FHA, VA, USDA, jumbo, construction-to-perm), and commercial lending—to consumers, small and medium businesses, and homebuyers along South Carolina's Carolina Coast. As of 2026 it operates 12 branches across the Grand Strand and Lowcountry markets, holds approximately $1.9 billion in total assets, generated $102.25 million in revenue with $15.94 million in net income, and trades on OTCQX under ticker SABK at a $149.7 million market capitalization.

The company's distribution combines physical branches with digital self-service channels: the NetTeller online banking platform, the goMobile mobile app for iOS and Android, Apple Pay integration, 24/7 telephone banking, and online account opening. Supporting technology includes DefenseEdge Fraud Manager for transaction scoring and NetTeller Cash Management for ACH origination, online wire transfers, and Positive Pay check validation. Merchant services are delivered through a Clover POS reseller partnership. Wealth-management and insurance products are offered via a referral arrangement with MML Investors Services (affiliated with MassMutual), under which South Atlantic Bank receives 12% of dealer concessions and commissions.

The business model is primarily net-interest-income driven (interest rate spread on loans funded by deposits), supplemented by fee income from deposit accounts, mortgage origination, merchant services, wire transfers, and the wealth-management referral stream. The bank pursues a hybrid go-to-market combining local relationship bankers with digital channels, supported by community-development partnerships with FHLBank Atlanta, Habitat for Humanity of Horry County, Lowcountry Legal Volunteers, and the GoVA Foundation that reinforce brand presence in coastal South Carolina. The bank has been named one of America's Best Regional Banks and Credit Unions by Newsweek for three consecutive years (2024–2026) and has declared a cash dividend for four consecutive years.

Name

South Atlantic Bancshares

Legal name

South Atlantic Bancshares, Inc.

Website

https://southatlantic.bank

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

South Atlantic Bancshares is the holding company for South Atlantic Bank, a community bank operating 12 branches along coastal South Carolina. It serves consumers, small and medium businesses, and homebuyers with checking, savings, mortgage, commercial lending, merchant, and digital banking services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Banking

NAICS

Commercial Banking (52211), Offices of Bank Holding Companies (551111)

SIC

State Commercial Banks (6022)

akta.pro primary industry

Mass-Market Consumer Deposit Banking (Checking/Savings) (FSABAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

SME Deposits & Business Accounts (Operating, Savings, CDs) (FSABABAC), Retail Lending (Personal Loans, Auto, Credit Lines) (FSABAAAB), SME Business Lending (Term Loans, Lines of Credit, Overdrafts) (FSABABAB)

Keywords

• Community banking
• Retail banking services
• Commercial lending
• Residential mortgages
• Small business banking

Headquarters

HQ city

Myrtle Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Net Interest Income: Traditional banking revenue from interest rate spread - earning interest on loans (commercial, mortgage, consumer) while paying interest on deposits. This is the primary revenue driver.
2. Non-Interest Income: Fee-based income from deposit account fees, mortgage origination and lending, merchant services, wire transfers, and other banking service charges.
3. Wealth Management Referrals: Revenue from referral arrangements with MML Investors Services for wealth management and insurance products, receiving 12% of dealer concessions and commissions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

South Atlantic Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for South Atlantic Bank, a community bank serving consumers and small-to-medium businesses along coastal South Carolina. The bank delivers traditional banking products including checking, savings, CDs, IRAs, HSAs, consumer and commercial loans, residential mortgages, merchant card services, and cash management, distributed through 12 physical branches and digital banking channels (goMobile app and NetTeller online banking).

Product overview

South Atlantic Bank operates as a regional community bank offering an integrated banking platform with multiple delivery channels. The core banking platform includes deposit products (checking, savings, CDs, IRAs, HSAs) and lending services (consumer loans, mortgages, commercial lending). Digital banking capabilities are delivered through the goMobile mobile app and NetTeller online banking platform, with complementary services like Remote Deposit Capture and Business Cash Management for business customers. The bank also provides merchant card processing through Clover POS integration and offers wealth management through South Atlantic Financial Group partnership with MML Investors Services. The product architecture is a traditional community bank model with relationship banking services extended through digital self-service tools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• goMobile Mobile Banking App Mobile banking application for iOS and Android devices that enables account management, fund transfers, bill payments, mobile check deposits, and debit card controls for personal and business customers.
• NetTeller Online Banking Web-based online banking platform providing 24/7 account access, fund transfers, bill payment, and cash management services for both personal and business customers.
• Remote Deposit Capture with ACH Electronic check deposit service allowing business customers to scan and deposit checks remotely using desktop scanners or mobile devices, paired with ACH origination capabilities.
• Business Cash Management Services Suite of business banking services including ACH origination, online wire transfers, Positive Pay fraud protection, sweep accounts, zero balance accounts, and multi-user access controls.
• Merchant Card Services (Clover POS) Payment processing services for business customers including POS systems, payment gateway, and integration with Clover point-of-sale hardware (Clover Mini, Clover Flex, Clover Go).
• Mortgage Loans Residential mortgage products including fixed-rate mortgages (15-, 20-, 30-year terms), adjustable-rate mortgages, FHA loans, VA loans, USDA loans, jumbo loans, lot loans, construction-to-permanent financing, and portfolio loan options.
• Premier Checking Interest-bearing personal checking account with tiered balance options, daily interest compounding, free cashier's checks, and a linked no-minimum-balance savings account.
• Business 500 Checking Business checking account with 500 free transactions per cycle, fee waivers for qualifying merchants, and free personal Premier Checking for 20%+ business owners.
• South Atlantic Financial Group Wealth Management Wealth management and financial planning services offered through a partnership with MML Investors Services, providing investment advisory, securities, and insurance products to bank customers.

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• FHLBank AtlantacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 January 2026South Atlantic Bank is a member institution of FHLBank Atlanta, which enables the bank to participate in community development grant programs. Through this partnership, South Atlantic Bank administers competitive grants from FHLBank Atlanta to local organizations for affordable housing and wealth protection initiatives.
• Lowcountry Legal VolunteerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 January 2026Grant administration partnership through which LCLV received $200,000 from FHLBank Atlanta to deliver wills and heirs' property education services. South Atlantic Bank played an instrumental role in securing the competitive grant for LCLV as the member institution.
• GoVA FoundationcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2025Strategic partnership to provide free digital financial education resources to low- and moderate-income military families through GoVA's platform 'The Edge'. South Atlantic Bank provides a Community Development grant to fund the program. Joint quarterly webinar series on fraud prevention for military communities.
• Habitat for Humanity of Horry CountycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 March 2025Partnership to support affordable housing in Horry County. South Atlantic Bank serves as the member bank through which FHLBank Atlanta grants are administered. South Atlantic Bank also provides fixed-rate mortgages to Habitat homebuyers, allowing Habitat to reinvest in building more homes for families.
• MML Investors ServicesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWealth management referral partnership where South Atlantic Bank refers clients to MML Investors Services (affiliated with MassMutual). South Atlantic Bank receives 12% of dealer concessions, commissions, and advisory fees from MMLIS for referred clients.
• Lowcountry Gullah FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in LCLV's regional strategy for heirs' property education, along with Penn Center, Beaufort County Black Chamber of Commerce, and Hilton Head Island Gullah Geechee Land & Cultural Preservation Task Force.
• Heritage LibraryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in LCLV's regional strategy for heirs' property education, working together on genealogical research and legal advocacy.
• Center for Heirs' Property PreservationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in LCLV's regional strategy to strengthen education and legal advocacy around heirs' property issues throughout the Lowcountry.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Stock Yards Bancorp: Stock Yards Bancorp is a community-oriented bank holding company of comparable size running a relationship-driven model with consumer, mortgage, commercial, and wealth management lines that closely parallels South Atlantic's product mix and balance-sheet profile.
• First Bancorp (North Carolina): First Bancorp (FBNC) is a Southeast-focused community bank holding company of comparable size that operates a similar model — relationship banking, mortgage and commercial lending, and a multi-branch footprint across North and South Carolina coastal and inland markets — making it the closest comparable peer for South Atlantic.
• Live Oak Bancshares: Live Oak Bancshares is a digital-first community bank holding company that pairs a similar commercial lending and small business focus with technology-led delivery — a useful analog for South Atlantic's goMobile and NetTeller strategy and SME segment.
• United Community Banks: United Community Banks is a regional community bank holding company with a dense Southeast branch network, including coastal Georgia and the Carolinas, offering the same mix of consumer deposits, mortgages, and commercial lending with similar relationship-driven GTM.
• HomeTrust Bancshares: HomeTrust Bancshares is a comparable-sized community bank holding company that runs a similar relationship-based model across the Carolinas and Tennessee, with overlapping mortgage, consumer, and commercial banking product lines and a comparable deposit-funded balance sheet structure.
• National Bank Holdings Corp: National Bank Holdings (NBHC) is a community-focused bank holding company of similar scale that operates multi-state branch networks emphasizing relationship banking, comparable to South Atlantic's branch-led, community development model.
• Tompkins Financial Corporation: Tompkins Financial is a community bank holding company of comparable size operating a relationship-based consumer, mortgage, and commercial banking franchise in the Northeast — a useful size-and-model comparable, though geographically distinct.
• Park National Corp: Park National Corp is a community-oriented multi-state bank holding company with a comparable relationship-banking model spanning consumer deposits, mortgages, commercial loans, and wealth management — directly analogous to South Atlantic's structure.

Broad incumbents

• Pinnacle Financial Partners: Pinnacle Financial Partners is a larger Southeast and Tennessee-based bank holding company that competes in adjacent Carolinas markets with a similar relationship-banking and commercial-lending emphasis, though at meaningfully greater scale and geographic breadth.
• First Citizens BancShares: First Citizens BancShares is a much larger North Carolina-headquartered bank holding company with deep roots across the Carolinas that competes directly with South Atlantic in coastal markets, offering a wider product suite but less localized community-bank feel.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/southatlanticbank
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/south-atlantic-bank
• Instagraminstagram.com/southatlanticbank

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about South Atlantic Bancshares