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September 2025 Monthly Bulletin 5-Page Under Maintenance
MERCHANT ACQUIRER LIMITED PURPOSE BANK APPLICATION
he Department accepted the Better Payments MALPB, Atlanta, Georgia, application on September 15, 2025. Pursuant to Rule 80-12-2-.07, the Department will accept written comments on the application for 30 days from October 3, 2025. A copy of the public portion of the application can be obtained by emailing [email protected].
MEET DIRECTOR FOR SUPERVISION MATHEW ROBINSON
A photograph of Mathew Robinson
Mathew Robinson was promoted to the position of Director for Supervision effective October 1, 2025. Mathew joined the Department in June 2006 as an examiner in District 2. He progressed through the examiner ranks and was promoted to Supervisory Manager in August 2016. In his new role, Mathew will provide oversight of depository institutions, holding companies, and trust companies. He will implement the strategic initiatives of the Department and initiate the evolution of the supervision portfolio. Mathew has extensive experience with financial institutions, including large bank and credit union portfolios. Mathew graduated from Brewton Parker College in 2006 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management. He is a Certified Examinations Manager. Mathew is a 2024 graduate from the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Congratulations, Mathew!
DEEPFAKE MEDIA SCAMS
Scams targeting Americans are surging. Since 2020, the FBI has received over 4.2 million reports of fraud that resulted in $50.5 billion in losses. Imposter scams, in particular, are on the rise in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). Criminals are using deepfakes, or media that is generated or manipulated by AI, to gain the public’s trust and scam people out of money.
Deepfakes can be altered images, videos, or audio. They may depict people you know, including friends and family, or public figures including celebrities, government official, and law enforcement.
Following are tips to detect a deepfake by looking for inconsistencies:
- Are any of the facial features blurry or distorted?
- Does the person blink too much or too little?
- Do the hair and teeth look real?
- Are the audio and video out of sync?
- Is the voice tone flat or unnatural?
- Does the visual show odd or unnatural shadows or lighting?
The American Bankers Association provides a downloadable infographic on its website that includes tips to stay safe, specific red flags of a deepfake scam, and to whom to report scams.
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
District Director Rich Parker will speak at the Savvy Senior: Empower Your Financial Wellness Journey event on Wednesday, October 22, 2025. The financial wellness event will be held at the Lanier Tech College Conference Center, Cumming, Georgia. Registration is open and can be accessed here.
ACTION ON APPLICATIONS FOR THE MONTH
The following is a summary of official action taken by the Department on certain applications by Georgia state- chartered financial institutions, petitions for certificate of incorporation of financial institutions, and other matters of recent interest:
Applications For New Financial Institutions
| Financial Institution | Approval Date | Effective Date |
|---|---|---|
| Better Payments MALPB Atlanta, Georgia | Pending |
Applications To Establish a Branch Office
| Financial Institution | Branch Office | Approval Date | Effective Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Bank Sardis, Georgia | 1312 Professional Drive Myrtle Beach, South Carolina 29577 | 05/14/2025 | 09/08/2025 |
| First Southern Bank Waycross, Georgia | 221 Ware Street Blackshear, Georgia 31516 | 07/01/2024 | 09/16/2025 |
| Delta Community Credit Union Atlanta, Georgia | 1486 Old Salem Road SE Conyers, Georgia 30013 | 11/21/2024 | 09/16/2025 |
| First Peoples Bank Pine Mountain, Georgia | 115 Westridge Industrial Blvd Suite 101 McDonough, Georgia 30253 | 09/08/2025 | |
| F&M Bank Washington, Georgia | 5530 Hereford Farm Road Evans, Georgia 30809 | 09/09/2025 | |
| Synovus Bank Columbus, Georgia | 2459 N Main Street Summerville, SC 29486 | 09/10/2025 | |
| Bank of Dudley Dudley, Georgia | 3992 Highway 42 Locust Grove, Georgia 30248 | 09/12/2025 | |
| Carver State Bank Savannah, Georgia | 5300 United Drive SE Smyrna, Georgia 30082 | 09/15/2025 |
Applications To Change Main Office Location
| Financial Institution | Change Location Of | Approval Date | Effective Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Claxton Bank Claxton, Georgia | From: To: | 09/26/2025 |
Applications For Financial Institution Mergers
| Survivor | Merged Institution | Approval Date | Effective Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Associated Credit Union Norcross, Georgia | Coca-Cola Federal Credit Union Atlanta, Georgia | 09/03/2025 | |
| American Bancorp, Inc. Macon, Georgia | New Republic Partners, Inc. Charlotte, North Carolina | Pending |
Applications To Reserve A Name
| Proposed Name | County | Applicant | Approval Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| First City Bank of Georgia | Fulton | Byron Richardson, President, Bank Resources, Inc. 2451 Cumberland Parkway Suite 3618 Atlanta, Georgia 30339 | 09/05/2025 |
| Cresto Bank | Gwinnett | Byron Richardson, President, Bank Resources, Inc. 2451 Cumberland Parkway Suite 3618 Atlanta, Georgia 30339 | 09/23/2025 |
| First City Bank | Fulton | Byron Richardson, President, Bank Resources, Inc. 2451 Cumberland Parkway Suite 3618 Atlanta, Georgia 30339 | 09/24/2025 |
Subscribe to Receive this Publication: Notice of this publication is delivered to interested parties via e-mail.To subscribe to this publication as well as other items of interest, please visit our website at https://dbf.georgia.gov/.
Department of Banking and Finance
2990 Brandywine Road
Suite 200 Atlanta, Georgia 30341-5565
Phone: (770) 986-1633
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Department is the state agency that regulates and examines Georgia state-chartered banks,
state-chartered credit unions, state-chartered trust companies, international banking organizations, and bank holding companies that own Georgia state-chartered financial institutions. The Department also has responsibility for the supervision, regulation, and examination of merchant acquirer limited purpose banks chartered in Georgia.
In addition, the Department has regulatory and/or licensing authority over mortgage brokers, lenders and processors, mortgage loan originators, consumer installment loan companies, check cashers, sellers- issuers of payment instruments, and money transmitters.
Our Mission is to promote safe, sound, competitive financial services in Georgia through innovative, responsive regulation and supervision.