Georgia’s Newest Bank Celebrates One Year Anniversary

Moultrie Bank & Trust, Georgia’s newest bank, opened in May 2022 and what a year it has been for bank President & CEO Donna Lott and the team. CBA sat down with Donna to learn about the bank’s journey the first year and to learn about how the bank is serving their customers, shareholders and community.

According to Donna, the first year has been crazy busy but extremely rewarding. Along with Donna, the management team is led by Chief Lending Officer John Peters, Jr., and Chief Financial Officer Collin Batchelor. The bank currently has 13 employees with plans to continue to grow staff. “I have an incredibly dedicated and talented group of employees who embrace community banking all day, every day. They are career community bankers and would not have it any other way,” explained Donna.

“Realizing the importance of having a locally owned community bank, the founders and management team of Moultrie Bank and Trust set out to do what the “experts” thought was impossible: start a new community bank outside of a major metropolitan market. These savvy and civic minded individuals took on the challenge knowing that if they could establish a locally owned bank, the impact on their community would be substantial, stated John McNair, President & CEO of CBA.

Donna

President & CEO Moultrie Bank & Trust

“They are to be celebrated for making the personal and financial investment to make it happen. What makes this situation even more wonderful is how the entire community embraced the effort. Along with the founders, the bank has 486 total shareholders- the vast majority being small dollar investors,” continued Mr. McNair. “This is a wonderful American success story and proves that starting a new community bank outside a major metropolitan market CAN be done in a post Dodd/ Frank era. I hope this story will serve as motivation for other civic minded people across Georgia and the country to do similar. WELL DONE!”

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Tell us a little about you and your banking background. I started my banking career right out of college in 1998. I was given an opportunity to participate in the Management Trainee program at Southwest Georgia Bank in Moultrie and my banking career grew from there.

Is there a particular niche Moultrie Bank & Trust serves? Our niche is true community banking! Customers are choosing MB&T because we have local ownership with local management which has the autonomy to provide banking services that can be tailored to meet the needs of the communities we serve. Customers still value face-to-face, traditional banking services and MB&T has embraced that traditional model all while providing the latest in electronic banking services for consumers and businesses alike. One of the most repeated statements we heard early on in the formation process and still today is how individuals and businesses in our service area felt abandoned by the former community banks that were once headquartered in Moultrie, we knew we had to step up and put our local communities first and that’s exactly what we’re doing.

What prompted you to start a bank?

I received an unexpected yet interesting phone call from Byron Richardson, a bank consultant with Bank Resources, Inc. He gave me some insight into the organizing group he was working with and what they were trying to accomplish in terms of starting a truly locally owned and managed community bank in Moultrie-Colquitt County. At the time there was a significant disruption in the community banking landscape as there had been a number of corporate changes at other banks with branches located in MoultrieColquitt County and the surrounding service areas, so this opportunity could not have presented itself at a more opportune time.

I’m a career community banker by choice and was raised by a career community banker, so I have a deep appreciation for how a locally owned and managed bank impacts a community and I am proud I have earned the opportunity to lead and guide the efforts of Moultrie Bank & Trust.

How did the community support this new venture?

The community support has come from far and wide and has been tremendous! MB&T’s primary service area is Moultrie-Colquitt County, and our secondary service area consists of Brooks, Cook, Mitchell, Thomas, Tift, and Worth Counties and we were able to pull investors from all those areas and many more. We had a lot of interest from former residents of Moultrie-Colquitt County, many of whom still have family here. When we closed out our initial Stock Offering on April 27, 2022, we had 486 stockholders and raised a total of $21,571,970. The common statement from those that purchased stock was their desire to be a part of a bank that would invest in and support the local communities from a business as well as charitable perspective.

Share any challenges this first year, or before opening. Without a doubt the interest rate environment has presented a number of challenges for our Chief Financial Officer and Chief Lending Officer since opening in May 2022 but they’re making the best out of it. But by far our biggest challenge this first year has been the construction of our permanent facility. I realize MB&T is not the only one feeling the pain of increased construction costs, labor shortages and supply delays but it has been a continuing point of frustration. Our executive management group and directors are determined to stick to our budget projections and business plan as we want to do right by our MB&T Shareholders.

What are you most proud of?

There are so many things to be proud of as we’ve been able to accomplish a lot in this past year, but I believe achieving our first month of profitability in January 2023 was HUGE! We’ve continued the trend with a profitable February and March, so it feels good to be ahead of our initial financial projections.

Looking ahead – what’s next for Moultrie Bank & Trust?

I wish I had a crystal ball…. I feel we’ve got a great group of engaged board members along with a very talented group of employees who are working hard to make Moultrie Bank & Trust the go to for community banking in Moultrie-Colquitt County. We sincerely appreciate the shareholder and community support thus far and we look forward to being a responsive and supportive member of the community for many years to come.

What benefits of membership with CBA have you used during this process and how can CBA further assist you?

Our employees have been able to take advantage of numerous webinars as well as the Compliance Professionals Package.

Advocating for Community Banks is huge when it comes to public perception and the regulatory environment. I just thought the regulatory burden was huge when I worked for a $550 million dollar bank that was almost 100-years old and financially sound…. little did I know how things would feel in a $70 million-dollar denovo bank approaching its one-year anniversary.

MB&T supports the community in so many ways.