CB&T becomes South State Bank on Monday

A local bank is changing its name next week, but bank officials say customers won't notice much change beyond new signs and new colors.<br /> <br /> On Monday, Community Bank & Trust becomes South State Bank as the bank's parent company launches a rebranding effort aimed at bringing the five different banks it owns under a unified name.<br /> <br /> Officials at the CB&T branch on E.E. Butler Parkway in Gainesville unveiled new signage outside the branch during a brief ceremony Friday afternoon. Gone are the familiar red and white signs of CB&T, replaced with the blue and gold of South State Bank.<br /> <br /> "By bringing everything under one name, we're going to be able to better serve our customers," said Doug Patterson, city executive for CB&T in Gainesville. "We're going to bring five names and $8 billion (in assets) under the South State Bank name. It's really going to let us provide even more convenience."<br /> <br /> As the parent company, South Carolina Bank and Trust, has expanded and acquired other banks in recent years, the company made a conscious effort to let those bank keep their name.<br /> <br /> "That was the strategy of the bank," Patterson said. "It let customers know the local bank they knew and trusted wasn't going anywhere."<br /> <br /> But having five banking names