RICHMOND, Va., Jan. 5, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TowneBank (Nasdaq:TOWN) announced that, at the close of business on January 2, 2015, it completed the previously announced acquisition of Franklin Financial Corporation ("Franklin"), parent company of Franklin Federal Savings Bank, one of the oldest and largest community-based financial institutions in central Virginia.
All eight Franklin branches opened today as TowneBank Richmond. The same branch banking staff at these offices will continue to welcome and serve existing and new members. The regional headquarters for TowneBank Richmond will be located in Innsbrook at 4501 Cox Road, Glen Allen, Virginia.
"Our Towne family is passionately dedicated to building a significant community asset for Richmond and Central Virginia through our devoted commitment to serving others and enriching lives," said G. Robert Aston, Jr., Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer.
T. Patrick Collins, a Richmond native, will serve as president and CEO of TowneBank Richmond. Collins' commercial banking career spans four decades, and he has held regional leadership positions in several local and national banks, including SunTrust in Richmond, and most recently, StellarOne.
"We are looking forward to bringing TowneBank's special style of hometown banking to our friends and neighbors as well as the greater Richmond business community," said Collins. "When you enter any of our banking centers, you will experience a warm sense of belonging and the same smiling faces of the Franklin bankers who have contributed to building the 81-year legacy of Franklin Federal. As an added benefit, Towne will offer a full range of business banking, treasury services, insurance, investment services, and an expanded team of lending professionals well known in the Richmond market."
Founded in Aston's garage in Portsmouth, Virginia and opening on April 8, 1999, TowneBank has emerged as one of the most successful new banks ever chartered in Virginia. Its many unique approaches to delivering hometown service includes providing concierge services to business and private banking members utilizing a fleet of Volkswagen Beetles staffed by hometown bankers.
With Franklin joining the Towne family, the Towne Banking network will expand to 36 offices serving members from Richmond, to Williamsburg, to Virginia Beach, to the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
The TowneBank Richmond board of directors will be expanding in the months ahead to include Franklin board members as well as a group of central Virginia business and community leaders. Richard T. Wheeler Jr., past chairman, president and CEO of Franklin will join the TowneBank corporate board and executive committee, and also serve on the TowneBank Richmond board.
TowneBank has grown to be $4.97 billion in assets as of September 30, 2014, and is one of the largest banks headquartered in Virginia. With the Franklin acquisition, total assets for the combined companies, on a pro forma basis as of September 30, 2014, were $6.07 billion.
As one of the top community banks in Virginia and North Carolina, TowneBank operates 36 banking offices serving Richmond, Glen Allen, Mechanicsville, Chesterfield, Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, James City County and York County in Virginia along with Moyock, Grandy, Camden, Southern Shores, Corolla and Nags Head in North Carolina. Towne also offers a full range of financial services through its controlled divisions and subsidiaries that include Towne Investment Group, Towne Insurance Agency, TFA Benefits, TowneBank Mortgage, TowneBank Commercial Mortgage, Prudential Towne Realty, Towne 1031 Exchange, LLC, and Corolla Classic Vacations. Local decision-making is a hallmark of its hometown banking strategy that is delivered through the leadership of each group's President and Board of Directors.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements made in this release, other than those concerning historical financial information, may be considered forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release and are based on current expectations and involve a number of assumptions. These include statements as to the anticipated benefits of the merger, including future financial and operating results, cost savings and enhanced revenues that may be realized from the merger as well as other statements of expectations regarding the merger and any other statements regarding future results or expectations. TowneBank intends such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this statement for purposes of these safe harbor provisions. The Company's ability to predict results, or the actual effect of future plans or strategies, is inherently uncertain. Factors which could have a material effect on the operations and future prospects of TowneBank include but are not limited to: (1) the businesses of TowneBank and Franklin may not be integrated successfully or such integration may be more difficult, time-consuming or costly than expected; (2) expected revenue synergies and cost savings from the merger may not be fully realized or realized within the expected timeframe; (3) revenues following the merger may be lower than expected; (4) customer and employee relationships and business operations may be disrupted by the merger; (5) changes in interest rates, general economic and business conditions; legislative/regulatory changes; the monetary and fiscal policies of the U.S. government, including policies of the U.S. Treasury and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve; the quality and composition of the loan and securities portfolios; demand for loan products; deposit flows; competition; demand for financial services in the companies' respective market areas; implementation of new technologies; ability to develop and maintain secure and reliable electronic systems; changes in the securities markets; and changes in accounting principles, policies and guidelines; and (6) other risk factors detailed from time to time in filings made by TowneBank with the FDIC. TowneBank undertakes no obligation to update or clarify these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.