Which banks are lending on multifamily and commercial real estate in South Carolina?
Reviewed by Dominick Prevete, Founder, Blue Sky Capital Advisors
LinkedInBlue Sky Capital Advisors LLC, NJ entity ID 0450507578 (verify on the NJ business search)
44 FDIC-insured banks headquartered in South Carolina with under $100 billion in assets held $1.3 billion of multifamily loans and $13.9 billion of commercial real estate loans at June 30, 2026, in Dominick Prevete's analysis of FDIC Call Report data for Blue Sky Capital Advisors, a commercial mortgage advisor. The two largest multifamily books are at United Community Bank and Southern First Bank. 14.0% of the state's bank CRE sits at banks at or above the 300% monitoring level, rank 25 of 43 states.
Data as of June 30, 2026 (Q2 2026 FDIC Call Reports) · Retrieved October 12, 2026MethodologyDownload the South Carolina data (CSV)
South Carolina bank CRE at a glance
| Measure | South Carolina | U.S. | Rank of 43 |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDIC-insured banks | 44 | 4,281 | 30 |
| Multifamily loans | $1.3B | $405.2B | 40 |
| Total CRE loans | $13.9B | $1,600.5B | 34 |
| Multifamily growth, year over year | +20.4% | +3.5% | 1 |
| CRE growth, year over year | +5.0% | +3.4% | 16 |
| Share of CRE at banks at or above 300% | 14.0% | 25.0% | 25 |
| Share of CRE at banks at or above 200% | 84.1% | 71.0% | 13 |
| Banks growing multifamily | 7 of 8 (87.5%) | 670 of 1,066 (62.9%) | 2 |
CRE is construction, multifamily and non-owner-occupied commercial real estate loans. Growth is like for like: South Carolina banks that filed at both dates with no merger in the year. "Banks growing multifamily": of the 8 such South Carolina banks with a multifamily book of $25 million or more a year earlier, the 7 whose book is larger now; the rank orders that share.
What stands out in South Carolina
Like for like, South Carolina's banks' multifamily books grew 20.4% in the year to June 30, 2026, the highest of the 43 ranked states (U.S.: +3.5%).
Banks here added multifamily loans faster than banks nationally, so a local bank is more likely to have room for a new apartment loan.
7 of South Carolina's 8 banks with a multifamily book of $25 million or more a year ago grew it (87.5%), the second-highest of the 43 ranked states (U.S.: 62.9%).
More of this state's multifamily lenders are growing their books than nationally, so a borrower here has more banks worth asking.
Which South Carolina banks are growing multifamily?
| # | Bank | City | Multifamily loans | Multifamily, year over year | CRE concentration (% of capital) | CRE, 36 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UNITED COMMUNITY BANK | GREENVILLE | $713.6M | +20.9% | 216.0% | +9.0%† |
| 2 | SOUTHERN FIRST BANK | GREENVILLE | $86.2M | +23.2% | 236.4% | +4.9% |
| 3 | FIRST CAPITAL BANK | CHARLESTON | $82.4M | +59.9% | 314.0% | +73.6% |
| 4 | ANDERSON BROTHERS BANK | MULLINS | $81.9M | +90.6% | 268.5% | +77.1% |
| 5 | COASTAL STATES BANK | HILTON HEAD ISLA | $54.1M | +70.5% | 237.7% | +11.8% |
| 6 | SOUTH ATLANTIC BANK | MYRTLE BEACH | $50.4M | −24.7% | 334.1% | +55.7% |
| 7 | FIRST COMMUNITY BANK | LEXINGTON | $47.6M | +57.8%‡ | 316.4% | +63.2%† |
| 8 | COASTAL CAROLINA NB | MYRTLE BEACH | $37.5M | +1.5% | 265.9% | +22.1% |
| 9 | SECURITY FEDERAL BANK | AIKEN | $32.4M | +20.8% | 141.8% | +7.9% |
| 10 | OPTUS BANK | COLUMBIA | $19.1M | +14.3% | 119.0% | +584.4% |
| 11 | BANK OF THE LOWCOUNTRY | WALTERBORO | $14.2M | −17.1% | 254.4% | +43.3% |
| 12 | BEACON COMMUNITY BANK | MOUNT PLEASANT | $12.5M | −19.1% | 251.8% | +44.8% |
| 13 | BANK OF SOUTH CAROLINA | CHARLESTON | $9.8M | +11.1% | 139.7% | −0.6% |
| 14 | WOODRUFF FS&LA | WOODRUFF | $9.6M | +10.8% | 37.5% | +16.2% |
| 15 | FIRST RELIANCE BANK | FLORENCE | $9.1M | +0.5% | 205.5% | +22.2% |
| 16 | BANK OF TRAVELERS REST | TRAVELERS REST | $8.8M | +22.4% | 138.8% | +30.7% |
| 17 | CITIZENS BANK | OLANTA | $8.1M | −7.7% | 102.3% | +3.8% |
| 18 | ARTHUR STATE BANK | UNION | $7.1M | +17.8% | 175.2% | +55.5% |
| 19 | CONWAY NATIONAL BANK | CONWAY | $6.8M | +1.2% | 128.7% | +27.0% |
| 20 | PICKENS SAVINGS&LOAN ASSN FA | PICKENS | $6.8M | +3.5% | 82.3% | +62.0% |
| 21 | BANK OF CLARENDON | MANNING | $6.5M | +59.7% | 127.1% | +31.2% |
| 22 | CAROLINA BANK&TRUST CO | LAMAR | $6.5M | −3.7% | 139.3% | +1.4% |
| 23 | FIRST PALMETTO BANK | CAMDEN | $5.5M | −11.6% | 266.1% | +18.3% |
| 24 | KINGSTREE FS&LA | KINGSTREE | $5.3M | −4.7% | 143.8% | +0.2% |
| 25 | SPRATT SAVINGS BANK | CHESTER | $4.7M | −2.7% | 22.5% | −18.0% |
‡ / † 2 of these 25 South Carolina banks absorbed another institution inside the year-over-year / 36-month window (FDIC structure history), so their change reflects a merger, not solely new lending. Names as filed in the FDIC financial data; city is the headquarters. Shading: 300% and over, and 200%–299%.
Banks with $100 billion or more in assets are left out of this table and the state ranks, as on the national page: the largest banks' balance sheets are national. None is headquartered in South Carolina.
This list is FDIC Call Report data, not a list of Blue Sky's lender relationships, and it isn't a ranking or endorsement. How Blue Sky gets paid →
Download every South Carolina bank (CSV)Every state, and the national picture →
What this means if you're a borrower in South Carolina
Banks that are adding multifamily loans tend to compete for them, so it is worth asking more than one South Carolina bank before taking the first terms you see.
With many South Carolina banks growing their multifamily books, a borrower usually has more than one bank to compare before choosing.
Dominick Prevete of Blue Sky Capital Advisors arranges multifamily and commercial financing for South Carolina properties with banks and other lenders, and is paid at closing (how Blue Sky gets paid). Call (908) 220-6404 or request a consultation.
Sources
- FFIEC Central Data Repository: public Call Reports as of June 30, 2026 — Every bank figure on this page: each bank's loans, capital, concentration and growth, from its Call Report as of June 30, 2026 (retrieved October 12, 2026).
- FDIC BankFind Suite: bank lookup — The banks named in the table: look up any South Carolina bank by name or FDIC certificate number to confirm its headquarters and status.
- South Carolina banks, bank by bank (CSV) — The 44 banks headquartered in South Carolina, as filed: the rows behind the tables and every state figure here.
- Methodology, sources and limitations — How CRE concentration, like-for-like growth and the ranks among the 43 states are computed.
South Carolina bank CRE: common questions
Which banks in South Carolina hold the most multifamily loans?+
Among banks headquartered in South Carolina with under $100 billion in assets, United Community Bank ($713.6 million), Southern First Bank ($86.2 million) and First Capital Bank ($82.4 million) held the largest multifamily books at June 30, 2026, according to FDIC Call Report data. The table on this page lists the 25 largest, with each bank's change over the year.
Are South Carolina banks still growing multifamily?+
Like for like, South Carolina's banks grew 20.4% their multifamily books in the year to June 30, 2026, against +3.5% for U.S. banks under $100 billion. 7 of the 8 South Carolina banks with a multifamily book of $25 million or more a year earlier grew it. Like for like means banks that filed at both dates with no merger in the year.
How concentrated is South Carolina bank CRE?+
14.0% of the CRE held by South Carolina's banks under $100 billion sits at banks at or above 300% of capital, the 2006 interagency monitoring level: rank 25 of 43 states, against 25.0% nationally. 84.1% sits at banks at or above 200%. These are monitoring levels, not limits, and a bank above one is not in violation of anything.
Why don't national banks appear in this list?+
Banks with $100 billion or more in assets are left out of this page's tables and ranks, as on the national page: the largest banks' balance sheets are national, so their headquarters state says little about where they lend. None is headquartered in South Carolina. Every bank here is listed by headquarters state, not by where its loans are.
How often is this updated?+
Every quarter, after banks file their Call Reports. This South Carolina page reflects the 44 South Carolina banks' June 30, 2026 (Q2 2026) filings, retrieved October 12, 2026; Q3 2026 data is expected in December 2026.
What this table is not. Concentration ratios are computed from each South Carolina bank's own public regulatory filings and describe portfolio composition relative to capital — nothing here is a statement about any institution's safety, soundness, or condition, and exceeding a supervisory monitoring criterion is neither a violation nor a supervisory finding. Blue Sky Capital Advisors is a commercial mortgage advisory firm, not a bank rating agency.