Financial institutions today, Sept. 2008

Inside this issue:

REMINDER: Identity 2 Theft "Red Flags" Rule Mandatory Compliance Date
Approaching

DBF Outreach and

2

Upcoming Speaking

Engagements

Action on

3

Applications for the

Month of September

DBF's Customer

7

Service Stars for the

Month of September

News and topics of interest to financial institutions regulated by the Department of Banking and Finance

Monthly Bulletin #9

September 2008

GeorgiaFIRST Regional Recovery Coalition
GeorgiaFIRST is a regional coalition of financial institutions focused on developing a public-private partnership which will assist with contingency plans, emergency management plans, pandemic preparedness plans, and improvements in business continuity in the event of a natural disaster or manmade attack. By fostering relationships and points of contact with public, private and governmental partners locally, state-wide, and nationally, GeorgiaFIRST will promote the critical continuity of financial services to the communities it serves.
This effort has received support from the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance, and is recommended and supported at the national level by the United States Treasury Department, the FDIC and Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council. There are similar coalitions in Florida, Alabama, Texas, Minnesota, California and Illinois, with additional states in various stages of formation.
Lessons learned from 9-11, Katrina, and similar catastrophic events recognize that first responders are the local private citizens at ground zero of the crisis, closely followed by local emergency management personnel. This recognition, along with the increased complexity of our society and the nature of the threats against it, requires us to act together to mitigate the effects of these events that are sure to occur in the future.
The National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) identifies Banking and Finance as one of the 18 Critical Infrastructure/Key resources. It also recommends forming regional coalitions as a mechanism for coordination between government and private sector entities that can be used to implement the NIPP risk management framework. It goes on to list multiple areas in which each side can assist one another, but the primary benefit is reducing assumptions in our emergency planning by sharing information between public and private sector partners that identifies before a crisis/disaster the needs, resources, and challenges of the financial services sector and the emergency responders.
In addition, the Banking and Finance Sector Specific Plan recommends regional partnerships as a best practice to enhance and maintain the resilience of financial institutions in the face of crisis/disaster. Georgia's financial institutions are now preparing to be an integral part of our state's recovery efforts and can be counted on as a partner with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency during times of crisis/disaster.
GeorgiaFirst is happy to announce that it is now taking applications for membership. If you would like to register as a member, please go to http://www.crmtool.net/WebForm.asp?F=451&W=4222 and complete the online registration form. We encourage all financial institutions operating in Georgia, whether state or federally-chartered, to join GeorgiaFIRST in their preparedness efforts. For further information about GeorgiaFIRST and other regional recovery coalitions, visit the Department's website and click on Banks & Holding Companies or Credit Unions, then look under Related Links for GeorgiaFIRST Regional Recovery Coalition.
If you have any questions please contact Rick Kelly at RichardKelly@synovus.com or by phone at 706644-4316, or Ted Hansen at thansen@fsisac.us or by phone at 770-664-4207.

"Safeguarding Georgia's Financial Services"

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REMINDER: Identity Theft "Red Flags" Rule Mandatory Compliance Date Approaching
The Identity Theft "Red Flags" rule, as required under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA), was issued jointly on November 15, 2007 by the federal bank, credit union and thrift regulators and the Federal Trade Commission. The regulation and guidelines were effective on January 1, 2008, and mandatory compliance is required by November 1, 2008. As a reminder:
The regulation and guidelines implement sections 114 and 315 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003. The regulation requires each financial institution or creditor to develop and implement a written Identity Theft Prevention Program to detect, prevent, and mitigate identity theft in connection with the opening of certain accounts or certain existing accounts. Supplement A to the guidelines contains a list of 26 "red flags" that financial institutions and creditors may consider incorporating into their identity theft prevention programs. The guidelines are intended to assist financial institutions in implementing the regulation. The regulation requires card issuers to assess the validity of change of address requests before issuing additional or replacement debit or credit cards. The regulation requires users of consumer reports to reasonably verify the identity of the subject of a consumer report in the event the user receives a notice of address discrepancy from the consumer reporting agency.
You may access the Interagency Final Rule from Interagency Final Rule Regarding Identity Theft Red Flags and Address Discrepancies
DBF Outreach AND UPCOMING SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
Commissioner Braswell will be participating on a regulatory panel at the Georgia Bankers Association's President/CEO and Bank Counsel Conferences in Savannah on October 7th. Deputy Commissioner for Supervision Kevin Hagler will be speaking at the CBA Director's College in Young Harris, GA on October 3rd. Supervisory Manager Lori Godfrey and District Director Melissa Sneed will also be attending.

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Action on Applications for the Month of September:
The following is a summary of official action taken on applications by State Financial Institutions under Chapter 7-1 of the Code of Georgia and petitions for Certificate of Incorporation of Financial Institutions and other matters of interest during the month of September 2008.

APPLICATIONS FOR NEW FINANCIAL INSTITUTION

FINANCIAL INSTITUTION North Metro Bank Highway 9 & Bethelview Drive Cumming, GA 30040 Forsyth County

CAPITALIZATION $ 22,000,000

APPROVAL Pending

BEGIN BUSINESS

Chattahoochee Bank of Georgia 643 E E Butler Parkway Gainesville, GA 30501 Hall County

$ 20,832,200

04-04-2008

09-15-2008

FINANCIAL INSTITUTION SunTrust Bank Atlanta
SunTrust Bank Atlanta
SunTrust Bank Atlanta
SunTrust Bank Atlanta
Community Bank & Trust Cornelia
First Choice Community Bank Dallas
First Choice Community Bank Dallas

APPLICATIONS TO ESTABLISH A BRANCH OFFICE

BRANCH OFFICE Arnold Safeway In-Store Branch Office 1451 Ritchie Highway Arnold, MD 21012 Anne Arundel County

APPROVAL BEGIN BUSINESS Pending

James Island BI-LO Branch Office 850 Folly Road Charleston, SC 29412 Charleston County

09-19-2008

The Avenue Forsyth Branch Office 3120 Ronald Reagan Boulevard Cumming, GA 30041 Forsyth County

08-28-2008 09-17-2008

Gulf Coast Town Center Branch Office 17100 Ben Hill Griffin Parkway Fort Myers, FL 33913 Lee County

01-07-2008

09-15-2008

Maysville Branch Office 4 Main Street Maysville, GA 30558 Banks County

08-08-2008 09-22-2008

Sandhill Branch Office 95 Sandhill Hickory Level Road Carrollton, GA 30116 Carroll County

Pending

Chapel Hill Branch Office 2750 Chapel Hill Road Douglasville, GA 30135 Douglas County

Pending

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FINANCIAL INSTITUTION First Choice Community Bank Dallas
First Choice Community Bank Dallas
First Choice Community Bank Dallas
First Choice Community Bank Dallas
First Choice Community Bank Dallas
Pinnacle Bank Elberton
The Heritage Bank Hinesville
WestSide Bank Hiram
First Choice Community Bank 1874 Newnan
First Choice Community Bank 1874 Newnan
First Covenant Bank Norcross

BRANCH OFFICE Douglasville Branch Office 6559 East Church Street Douglasville, GA 30134 Douglas County
Downtown Newnan Branch Office 16 East Broad Street Newnan, GA 30263 Coweta County
White Oak Branch Office 1595 Highway 34 East Newnan, GA 30265 Coweta County
Senoia Branch Office 8180 Highway 16 East Senoia, GA 30276 Coweta County
Sharpsburg Branch Office 6548 Highway 54 Sharpsburg, GA 30277 Coweta County
Commerce Branch Office 1871 North Elm Street Commerce, GA 30529 Jackson County
Stephenson Avenue Branch Office 620 Stephenson Avenue Savannah, GA 31405 Chatham County
Mableton Branch Office 4875 Floyd Road SW Mableton, GA 30126 Cobb County
Lawrenceville Branch Office 185 Gwinnett Drive Lawrenceville, GA 30045 Gwinnett County
Main Office 5270 Peachtree Parkway Suite 116 Norcross, GA 30092 Gwinnett County
Jefferson Branch Office 1681 Old Pendergrass Road Suite 170 Jefferson, GA 30549 Jackson County

APPROVAL BEGIN BUSINESS Pending Pending Pending Pending Pending 09-24-2008 07-15-2008 09-02-2008 06-17-2008 09-03-2008 Pending Pending
Withdrawn 09-30-2008

FINANCIAL INSTITUTION Northwest Georgia Bank Ringgold

BRANCH OFFICE North Shore Branch Office 319 Manufacturer's Road Chattanooga, TN 37405 Hamilton County

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APPROVAL BEGIN BUSINESS 01-31-2008 09-08-2008

FINANCIAL INSTITUTION United Community Bank Blairsville
Farmers and Merchants Bank Lakeland

APPLICATIONS TO CHANGE LOCATION

From: To:

CHANGE LOCATION OF Cashiers Branch Office 60 U.S. Highway 64 East Cashiers NC 28717 Jackson County 20 Frank Allen Road Cashiers NC 28717 Jackson County

APPROVAL Pending

From: To:

Main Office 110 Carter Street Lakeland 31635 Lanier County 420 South Valdosta Road Lakeland GA 31635 Lanier County

Withdrawn 09-03-2008

EFFECTIVE

FINANCIAL INSTITUTION (SURVIVOR) Bank of North Georgia Alpharetta, GA
Bank of North Georgia Alpharetta, GA
AFB&T Athens, GA
State Employees' Credit Union Atlanta, GA
The PrivateBank and Trust Company Chicago, IL
First Gulf Bank, National Association Pensacola, FL

FINANCIAL INSTITUTION MERGERS
MERGED INSTITUTION Citizens Bank and Trust of West Georgia Carrollton, GA
Citizens & Merchants State Bank Douglasville, GA
The National Bank of Walton County Monroe, GA
Georgia DOT Credit Union Atlanta, GA
The PrivateBank Atlanta, GA
RBC Bank (Georgia) Atlanta, GA

APPROVAL EFFECTIVE 09-19-2008 09-19-2008 08-18-2008 09-15-2008 03-11-2008 09-01-2008 Pending Pending

Page 6

APPLICATIONS TO BECOME A BANK HOLDING COMPANY AND/OR TO ACQUIRE VOTING STOCK OF A FINANCIAL INSTITUTION

BANK HOLDING COMPANY

TO ACQUIRE

APPROVAL

FORMATIONS Piedmont Bancorp, Inc. Norcross, GA

First Choice Community Bank 1874 Newnan, GA

Pending

Citizens Investors, LLC Savannah, GA

(51% of) First Citizens Bankshares, Inc. Glennville, GA

Pending

ACQUISITIONS Early Bancshares, Inc. Blakely, GA

One South Bank (FSB) IO Chipley, FL

09-12-2008

NOTIFICATION OF APPROVAL OF APPLICATION TO SERVE A RESIDENTIAL GROUP COMMON BOND

CREDIT UNION Pinnacle Credit Union Atlanta

RESIDENTIAL GROUP COMMON BOND Putnam County, GA

APPROVAL 09-30-2008

CHECK CASHER LICENSES ISSUED

CITY Americus Canton Jesup LaGrange Blackshear Marietta Lawrenceville Augusta Atlanta Tifton Doraville Roswell Atlanta Milledgevile Atlanta Albany Macon Hazlehurst Suwanee Atlanta Hazlehurst

APPLICANT NAME * A and D Foods, Inc. * Aquil Investment, Inc.
Aryan Food Corporation of Jesup, Inc. * Ayesha Enterprises, LLC * Blackshear Investment Group, Inc. * Food Basket, Inc. * H&S Mart, Inc. * J. C. Enterprises & Co., LLC * Jae James Lee * Jaineta R. Amin
Local Check Cashing, Inc. M K Investment Firm, LLC MARKSND Investments, Inc. * Mukesh Kala One Stop Money Center, Inc. * SOWEGA Financial Services, LLC * SWL Corporation * Shivam Corporation of GA * Shree Laxmi Investments, Inc. * Song's Easy Shop, Inc. * Vraj Investment, Inc.

TRADE NAME Quick Stop Quick Pick Food Mart Country Corner Ribitz Bait & Tackle Whistle Stop Package Store Food Basket H&S Mart Raceway 868 Walton Food Mart Sunny Swifty Local Check Cashing Alpharetta Street Bottle Store Pharr Food and Gas Twin Lakes Beverage Haus
Family Supermarket 341 Quick Stop Texaco Food Mart Easy Shop Latimer Minit Mart

* =Registered Exempt (O.C.G.A. 7-1-709)

DBF's Customer Service Stars for the Month of September

Page 7

It is the Department's goal to provide excellent customer service, meeting and exceeding the expectations of our customers. Along those lines, we would like to recognize the following individuals for going above and beyond in serving our customers:
Supervisory Examiner Daisy Mitchell and her examination team (District 1): The Department received comments from a customer stating: "We would like to take the opportunity to thank Examiner Daisy Mitchell and the other members of the examination team for the professionalism they exhibited during the examination. The exam process was very well managed and was completed in an efficient and effective manner."
Supervisory Examiner Rich Parker and his examination team (District 1): The Department received comments from a customer stating: "As mentioned in conversation with Mr. [Rich] Parker, I believe the exam was fair, accurate, and balanced. We are appreciative of the professionalism shown by the examiners during their visit with us, and are appreciative of the recommendations made. While perfection will never occur, these recommendations will assist us in being a better bank for our shareholders, customers, and other stakeholders in the community."
Supervisory Examiner Michael Hooks and his examination team (District 4): The Department received comments from a customer stating: "Management and the Board would like to thank lead examiner Michael Hooks and his staff for the professionalism they displayed while examining our bank in what was obviously a difficult exam for both sides."

CONGRATULATIONS AND GREAT JOB TO THIS MONTH'S CUSTOMER SERVICE STARS!!

GEORGIA
DEPARTMENT OF BANKING AND FINANCE
2990 Brandywine Road Suite 200
Atlanta, Georgia 30341-5565
Phone: (770) 986-1633 Fax: (770) 986-1654 or 1655 Email: dbfpress@dbf.state.ga.us

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The Department is the state agency that regulates and examines banks, credit unions, and trust companies chartered by the State of Georgia. The Department also has regulatory and/or licensing authority over mortgage brokers, lenders, and processors, money service businesses, international banking organizations, and bank holding companies conducting business in Georgia.
Our Mission is to promote safe, sound, competitive financial services in Georgia through innovative, responsive regulation and supervision.
Our Vision is to be the best financial services industry regulator in the country Progressive. Proactive. Service-Oriented.

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Visit our website at: dbf.georgia.gov

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"Safeguarding Georgia's Financial Services"