Security Federal Corporation announces retirement and appointment of chief executive officer, chief financial officer, and appointment of new directors
June 8, 2026
Security Federal Corporation, the holding company for Security Federal Bank, announced that J. Chris Verenes and Darrell R. Rains will retire as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, respectively, effective July 10, 2026.
The company also announced the promotion of Philip R. Wahl II to Chief Executive Officer and Nathan T. Crowe to Chief Financial Officer of both the company and the bank. Wahl will continue serving as President of Security Federal Bank and, effective immediately, has been appointed to the boards of directors of both the company and the bank.
Following his retirement as CEO, Verenes will remain Chairman of Security Federal Bank and continue serving on the boards of directors of the company and the bank. He will also assume the role of Vice Chairman of the company’s board. Rains will continue his service to the organization as a member of the boards of directors of both the company and the bank.
Wahl has served as President of Security Federal Bank since August 2019 and previously served as the bank’s Augusta Market President beginning in 2017. Before joining Security Federal, he held a variety of leadership positions with local and national banks in the Augusta area during a 40-year banking career. He currently serves as chair of the CSRA Transportation Investment Act Citizens Review Panel and previously chaired Destination Augusta, the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce and the Augusta University Foundation Board of Trustees.
Mr. Crowe joined the Bank in November 2021 as the Director of Strategic Planning. He has served as the Bank’s Chief Accounting Officer from April 2022 to the present. He was the CFO of Optus Bank in Columbia, South Carolina from May 2021 to October 2021. Prior to that, he worked at the accounting firm of Elliott Davis, LLC for over 12 years and was a Senior Manager from July 2016 to May 2021. He is a CPA and a CRCM.
Security Federal Bank has 19 full-service branches located in Aiken, Ballentine, Clearwater, Columbia, Graniteville, Langley, Lexington, North Augusta, Ridge Spring, Wagener and West Columbia, South Carolina and Augusta and Evans, Georgia. A full range of financial services, including trust and investments, are provided by the Bank and insurance services are provided by the Bank’s wholly- owned subsidiary, Security Federal Insurance, Inc.
