SmartFinancial, Inc. Announces Acquisition of Sevier County Bancshares, Inc.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn., April 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SmartFinancial, Inc., (Nasdaq: SMBK) (“SmartFinancial”), parent company of SmartBank, and Sevier County Bancshares, Inc., (“SCB”), parent company of Sevier County Bank, jointly announced today their entry into an agreement and plan of merger pursuant to which SmartFinancial will acquire SCB.

As of December 31, 2020, SCB had approximately $424 million of total assets, $381 million in deposits, and $243 million in net loans with six branches in Sevier County, Tennessee and one branch in Richmond, Virginia. The proposed transaction will improve SmartFinancial’s market share to #1 in Sevier County, Tennessee based on deposits as of June 30, 2020 and become the 4^th largest community bank headquartered in Tennessee, with total consolidated assets in excess of $3.7 billion. Additionally, SmartFinancial will enter the Richmond, Virginia market with the addition of SCB’s six-person commercial banking team. The Richmond team brings decades of commercial banking experience in the rapidly growing Richmond, Virginia area.  

“We are pleased to partner with Sevier County Bank, which has a multi-generational history within our legacy footprint and is a company that we have known and admired for years,” explained Billy Carroll, President and CEO of SmartFinancial. “Our familiarity with their leadership team and common market area are what attracted us to this opportunity. This merger is reflective of our philosophy of partnering with banks that hold core values similar to our own and have a commitment to serving their local communities.”

“SCB operates with a core mission of ‘Keeping Community in Business’, which complements SmartFinancial’s mission of serving clients and delivering ‘WOW’ experiences. We will offer more convenience to Sevier County Bank customers through a large regional branch network and enhanced product offerings and services,” commented Miller Welborn, Chairman of the Board of SmartFinancial. “Additionally, we are extremely enthusiastic about the new opportunities ahead for our company in the Richmond, Virginia market area. We look forward to continued growth and new opportunities in this new market.”