Carolina First Names Market President for Midlands Region
May 27, 2010
GREENVILLE, SC – May 26, 2010 – Carolina First Bank, the bankingsubsidiary for The South Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSFG) announcedthat it has named William C. Barker as market president for the Midlandsregion. In his role as market president, Barker’s primary focus will bethe management of day to day banking operations for the Midlandsmarket, which includes 23 branch offices and covers eight counties.
“We are extremely pleased to have a banker with Bill’s depth ofexperience lead the team in the Midlands,” said Chris Gompper, interimpresident of Carolina First. “He has worked in this area for over 30years so he understands the market, our customers and our employees.
That’s our focus – banking where you know your customers and they knowyou. And that’s where Bill will excel in his new role.”
Barker has more than 35 years of banking experience and joinedCarolina First in December 2006 as a senior credit officer for theMidlands and Piedmont regions. Prior to joining Carolina First, heserved as a financial advisor for Citigroup Smith Barney. Previous tothat, Barker was employed with Wachovia Bank for more than 31 yearswhere he held various positions, including managing director of WealthManagement.
“I am excited to take on this new role,” said Barker. “I have workedwith this talented team for several years, and I look forward tocontinuing to make a difference for our customers and this community aswe work to become the best relationship bank in our markets.”
Barker earned a Bachelor of Science Degree from Clemson University.He is also a graduate of the School of Banking of the South at LouisianaState University and the National Commercial Lending Graduate School atUniversity of Colorado. Barker serves on numerous community boardsincluding Clemson University Foundation, Junior Achievement of theMidlands and Palmetto Health Foundation.
General Information
The South Financial Group is a bank holding company focused on servingsmall businesses, middle market companies, and retail customers in theCarolinas and Florida. At March 31, 2010, it had approximately $12.4billion in total assets and 176 branch offices. TSFG operates CarolinaFirst Bank, which conducts banking operations in North Carolina andSouth Carolina (as Carolina First Bank), and in Florida (as MercantileBank). At March 31, 2010, approximately 44% of TSFG’s total customerdeposits were in South Carolina, 45% were in Florida, and 11% were inNorth Carolina. Investor information is available at www.thesouthgroup.com .
