Countybank Is From Greenwood. Its Mortgage Business Lives in Greenville
Updated October 22, 2026, with second-quarter 2026 call report and 2025 HMDA data. An earlier version of this article overstated Countybank's size and efficiency and described an SBA focus that public data does not support.
Countybank has been in Greenwood, South Carolina since 1933. Seven of its 13 offices are in Greenwood County.
Its mortgage business tells a different story. In 2025, Countybank originated 196 home loans in Greenville County, 74 in Greenwood County and 53 in Anderson County, according to its HMDA filing. The bank's growth market is an hour up the road.
A Bank That Earns Like a Mortgage Company
Countybank held $733 million in assets and $623 million in deposits at June 30, 2026, with 169 full-time-equivalent employees. Its first half of 2026, from the FDIC call report:
- Net income: $5.4 million, up 30% from $4.1 million a year earlier
- Return on assets: 1.45%
- Return on equity: 23.1%
- Net interest margin: 3.85%, up from 3.59%
- Efficiency ratio: 75.9%, down from 78.3%
In the first half of 2026, Countybank earned $13.3 million in net interest income and $10.1 million in noninterest income. Fees made up 43% of revenue, far more than at most community banks. The largest single piece was $3.9 million in gains on loan sales, up 47% from a year earlier. Trust and fiduciary income added $1.1 million.
A mortgage operation runs on people: loan officers, processors and underwriters. Salaries and benefits were $11.6 million of $17.8 million in noninterest expense. That is why the efficiency ratio is high and returns are still strong. The 23% return on equity also reflects a thin equity base, at 6.2% of assets, though the bank's Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio is a solid 14.8%.
What 2025 HMDA Shows
Countybank originated 642 home loans totaling $215.9 million in 2025:
- Purchase: 489 loans, $166.4 million, averaging about $340,000
- Refinance: 78 loans, plus 53 cash-out refinances
- Home improvement and other: 22 loans
On the balance sheet, one-to-four family residential loans are $191 million, 46% of the $411 million loan book. Nonfarm, nonresidential real estate is $160 million. Commercial and industrial loans are $25 million.
The Front Door
Countybank Mortgage is the most developed part of the bank's digital presence. It has an on-domain "Apply Now" path and its own mobile app, and underwriting is in-house.
The rest of the lending menu, as of October 2026:
- Auto loans: an "Apply Now" button that opens a multi-tab application (employment, marital status, assets and debts). Nothing is verified. A representative follows up within one business day.
- HELOC and the Instant Cash Line of Credit: product pages with "Contact Us" and "Questions" links
- Business loans and lines of credit: an inquiry form, with a callback promised within one business day
What the Mortgage Model Proves
Countybank has already shown it can win borrowers outside its home county when it gives them a real application. Its mortgage team does it every year in Greenville and Anderson.
The question is whether its other loans can travel the same way. A Greenville homeowner who got a mortgage from Countybank and later wants a home equity line or an auto loan meets a contact form. A Greenville business owner meets an inquiry form.
The mortgage operation shows the formula: an application a borrower can finish without a phone call, and a team that can process the result. Extending that to home equity and consumer lending, with income and assets verified as the borrower applies, is how a Greenwood bank keeps the Greenville customers its mortgage team already found.