SmartBank Completes Sevier Merger, FVC Buys Mortgage Company Stake

SmartFinancial, parent company to Tennessee-based SmartBank, has acquired Sevier County Bancshares and its subsidiary Sevier County Bank.

The acquisition involved Sevier being merged into SmartBank and the SmartBank brand being rolled out across all branches and products.

The combined company has total assets of more than $4 billion as of June 30, 2021, SmartFinancial said in a statement this week.

SmartFinancial president and CEO Billy Carroll said: “The acquisition of Sevier County Bank is a great milestone for us as we add scale in one of our strongest markets. The economy in the Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and Sevierville area is extremely robust and will add tremendous growth opportunities.”

As well as serving Tennessee, SmartBank’s branch network also covers Alabama, the Florida Panhandle, and Virginia.

Elsewhere, FVCbank has acquired a minority interest in Atlantic Coast Mortgage (ACM). The Virginia-based banking group has been working with the mortgage company for several years, providing a warehouse lending facility and helping to develop new products.

David Pijor, chairman and CEO of FVCbank, said the 28.7% stake in ACM would “allow us to provide competitive residential mortgage products to our customers, while increasing our financial opportunities and expanding our revenue mix”.

Meanwhile, New York-based Financial Institutions is to acquire the assets of North Woods Capital Benefits, an employee benefits consultancy.

Financial Institutions, which owns Five Star Bank and SDN Insurance Agency among other financial services brands, announced this week that SDN had completed the acquisition earlier in August.

Bill Wadsworth, North Woods’ founder, has become leader of SDN’s employee benefits practice, which has taken on the old company’s assets.

Martin Birmingham, president and CEO of Financial Institutions, said the acquisition added “important expertise in employee benefits and human resources consulting”.