Bank reports jump in its earnings

The holding company for Georgia Bank & Trust Co. reported a 29.1 percent increase in fourth-quarter earnings.

Southeastern Bank Financial Corp. said it earned $2.9 million for the three-month period that ended Dec. 31, compared with $2.2 million during the same period of 2004.

Diluted earnings per share were 53 cents, up from 42 cents in the previous year's quarter.

Georgia Bank & Trust Co., the market's largest locally owned bank, now has $864.3 million in assets.

"We continue to strongly progress toward reaching and exceeding $1 billion in assets within our Augusta metro market," President and CEO R. Daniel Blanton said in a statement.

The company operates eight local branches, a new branch in Athens and a mortgage operation in Savannah. The company also has chartered a thrift that will operate in Aiken as Southern Bank & Trust.

Georgia Bank & Trust ended the period with $601.2 million in loans and $663.7 million in profits, increases of 21.7 percent and 19.2 percent, respectively, from a year ago.

The bank's noninterest expenses were $6.6 million, up $547,700 from the year-ago quarter.

Return on average assets was 1.35 percent for the quarter, and the return on shareholders' equity was 17.68 percent.

Reach Tony Lombardo at (706) 823-3227 or tony.lombardo@augustachronicle.com.