About Us

In the 1920's Kingstree had three banks: Bank of Kingstree, Williamsburg Bank, and the Wee Nee Bank. These banks closed somewhere between 1926 and 1928. A bank known as Williamsburg Bank & Trust was organized and was later merged with the Peoples State Bank, a state-wide bank with its headquarters in Charleston, South Carolina. S.C.N. was possibly the only other state-wide bank at that time.

On January 2, 1932 the Peoples State Bank did not open for business and Kingstree was without a bank. For a seven month period the nearest banks were in Sumter, Charleston, and Florence. Residents of Kingstree found it very difficult to transact business during this period without banking facilities. This period was also during the depth of the depression and there was not a great deal of money in circulation or much business. Several local businessmen decided to pursue the possibility of a local bank. After weeks of hard work the required amount of Capital and Surplus was raised through the sale of stock in the proposed new bank.

On June 28, 1932 at 10:00 A.M. at the offices of Lee and Shuler, Attorneys, The Exchange Bank of Kingstree was established. There were twenty-two original subscribers to the Capital Stock of the Bank which was organized and began operating with total Capital and Surplus of $13,500.00. The State Charter was then obtained and the first meeting of the stockholders was held.

At this inaugural meeting of the stockholders it was unanimously agreed that the bank should be called The Exchange Bank of Kingstree with its location to be a vacant building on the West Side of Academy Street (known as the Mrs. R.B. Smith store building) next door to Ervins Jewelry. Also at this meeting the first Board of Directors were elected for a term of one year. The Board was comprised of I.V. Campbell, G.T. McIntosh, S.T. Tomlinson, LeRoy Lee, and D.L. Taylor. Mr. Lee was elected Chairman of the Board. At the first Board of Directors meeting held immediately after the stockholders meeting, Mr. LeRoy Lee was elected President, G.T. McIntosh was elected Vice-President, and D.L. Taylor was elected Secretary and Cashier.

R.L. Arnette joined the bank in 1958 upon graduation from the University of South Carolina. He began his banking career as a teller and also served as a branch manager. He was elected to the Board of Directors in 1978 and was named President in 1986. Mr. Arnette retired in December of 1999 but remains on the Board of Directors. John E. Martin was elected President upon Mr. Arnette's retirement.

The Exchange Bank of Kingstree has experienced much growth through the years. In 1966 a second office was opened at 607 Longstreet Street, and in 1968 an office was opened in Lane, South Carolina which served the community until it closed in 1992. In October of 1972 the Main Office moved to its present location at 130 West Main Street. In 1981 the East Main Street location, the oldest office, was moved to its present Nelson Boulevard location in order to provide more convenient access to the area served. In July of 1994 a new office was built on the corner of Longstreet Street and Academy Street which now houses the Longstreet Street office.

The Williamsburg County Courthouse, designed by Robert Mills, was built in 1823. Robert Mills, a nationally known architect, was a native of South Carolina.

In 1996 the stockholders approved changing the name of the insitution to reflect a more state wide image. On May 1, 1996 The Exchange Bank of Kingstree became The Exchange Bank of South Carolina. President Arnette commented, "The bank maintains the philosophy, 'If you are not moving forward you are moving in a reverse direction.'" On July 12, 1996 The Exchange Bank of South Carolina opened its first office in Andrews with the purchase of the NationsBank office. With this acquisition the bank increased total footings by almost twenty-five million dollars. On June 19, 1997 a second office was opened in Andrews with the purchase of the Wachovia office. During the last quarter of 1997 the two Andrews offices combined at the North Morgan Avenue location. Today, The Exchange Bank of South Carolina has a total of three offices in Kingstree and one in Andrews with total assets of approximately One Hundred Five Million Dollars.

Arnette said, "The Exchange Bank of South Carolina concentrates on sound investments with the outlook of serving our community by making good loans for expansion and capital improvements. We have also accelerated our efforts to serve our customers with sound personal loans. The Management of this bank and the Board of Directors are doing our very best to help your bank remain the profitable institution it has been since 1932."

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