Kelly Crawford joins Palmetto State Bank as CFO
March 18, 2025
Kelly Crawford is the new chief financial officer for Palmetto State Bank, a Lowcountry community bank that is now reaching out into South Carolina’s largest markets.
He will be helping manage an institution that has faithfully and effectively served customers in towns such as Allendale, Beaufort, Bluffton, Estill, Fairfax and Hampton for more than a century. But in keeping with the company’s expansion intentions, he works out of Greenville.
“I love having this opportunity to join a community bank with deep roots in South Carolina and a tradition of personal service,” said Crawford. “At the same time, I’m excited that this is an institution that embraces the latest, best practices in banking, and is reaching out to larger, fast-growing markets.”
Originally from Hayesville, N.C., Crawford graduated from Western Carolina University. He began his banking career in 2002 as a financial analyst with United Community Bank in Blairsville, Ga. In 2005, he moved to Atlanta, where he would work for the next nine years – first at the Bankers Bank as assistant vice president and asset liability manager; and then at CenterState Bank where he was a vice president and oversaw investment portfolios for community banks.
In 2014, he moved to South Carolina and served as vice president and financial treasurer for Countybank in Greenwood, managing the institution’s investment portfolio and funding. It was at Countybank where his career first overlapped with Andy Westbrook’s.
“I’ve had the pleasure and privilege of working with Kelly in the past,” said Andy Westbrook, the president and CEO of Palmetto State. “He brings the commitment, aptitude and skills to enable our bank to reach new heights.”
Crawford shares his skills with other bankers in the state as a faculty member of the South Carolina Bankers School, which convenes in Columbia each year to help banking executives reach for the next levels in their careers.
Beyond all of that, “family and faith are my main priorities in life,” he says. Married for 17 years, he and his wife have three children, ages 15, 11, and 8. He is a deacon at Edwards Road Baptist Church in Greenville and serves as one of the leaders of the student ministry group.
About Palmetto State Bank
Palmetto State Bank, headquartered in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, was founded in 1907. It has grown into a half-billion-dollar institution with seven branches serving Beaufort, Allendale, and Hampton counties. Its board, executives and employees are proud to deliver the kind of service that many believe was a thing of the past, with a commitment to seeing to its neighbors’ needs with the very best personal, one-on-one attention.
