Townsend serving as chief lending officer for The Southern Bank
Jun. 7—A familiar face in the local business community is serving in a new role.
Francis A. "Frank" Townsend III is the chief leading officer for The Southern Bank, which announced in March that it was planning to open a branch in Aiken by the end of the 2023.
"With Frank's exceptional financial expertise and deep understanding of the area, he is the ideal leader to steer our lending operations," said Scott Frierson, president of The Southern Bank, in a prepared statement. "His strategic vision, coupled with expert knowledge of the evolving financial landscape, will drive our bank's growth and solidify our position as a trusted partner for our customers."
A member of the Rotary Club of Aiken, Townsend previously was the city executive for SouthState Bank in Aiken.
Townsend is a graduate of Clemson University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in financial management, and the South Carolina Bankers School.
In 1985, Townsend began his banking career in C&S Bank's management associate program and focused on branch management, according to a June 5 news release.
He became a commercial lender with Palmetto Federal Savings Bank in 1994.
When Regions Bank acquired Palmetto Federal a few years later, Townsend was promoted to manage a team of three lending officers.
In 2005, Townsend joined Georgia Bank & Trust, which had plans to establish a de novo bank, which would build its deposit and loan officers from scratch, in Aiken. He subsequently led the effort to form Southern Bank and Trust, which opened in September 2007, and he served as its CEO until its merger with Georgia Bank & Trust in 2011. Prior to the merger, Townsend helped Southern Bank and Trust grow its assets to $200 million.
In 2017, South State Corporation completed a merger with the Southeastern Bank Financial Corporation, which was Georgia Bank & Trust's parent company.
In addition to being a Rotary Club member, Townsend serves as the treasurer on the Friends of the Animal Shelter's board of directors.
He also is involved in the Kevin and Brittany Kisner Foundation and Community Care and Counseling of Aiken.
The Southern Bank's branch in Aiken will be located on the former site of a South Carolina Electric & Gas business office. The nearly one-acre property is at 108 Barnwell Ave. N.W.
In Georgia, The Southern Bank has branches in Gibson, Hephzibah, Sardis and Waynesboro.
There also a branch in South Carolina in Greenville and another one is scheduled to begin serving customers soon in Spartanburg, according to The Southern Bank's website.
For more information, visit thesouthern.bank.
