Atlantic Coast Financial

History

The bank first opened its doors in 1939 as Atlantic Coast Federal Credit Union in Waycross, Georgia, servicing the employees of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad.

In November 2000, after receiving the necessary regulatory and membership approvals, Atlantic Coast Federal Credit Union converted to a federal mutual savings bank known as Atlantic Coast Federal. The conversion allowed Atlantic Coast Federal to diversify its customer base by marketing products and services to individuals and businesses within its market areas.

In January 2003, Atlantic Coast Federal Corporation was organized for the purpose of acquiring all of the capital stock that Atlantic Coast Federal issued upon its mutual holding company reorganization from the mutual to stock form of ownership. In October 2004, Atlantic Coast Federal Corporation completed a minority stock offering in which it sold 5,819,000 shares, or 40%, of its common stock to eligible depositors and Atlantic Coast Federal Corporation's Employee Stock Option Plan. The remaining majority of the 14,547,500 outstanding shares were owned by Atlantic Coast Federal, MHC, a federally chartered mutual holding company.

In July 2006, Atlantic Coast Federal, now a federally chartered stock savings association, was renamed Atlantic Coast Bank, to better reflect the nature of its operations.

In February 2011, the second step of the conversion from the mutual holding company structure was completed, along with a related public offering. As a result of the conversion, Atlantic Coast Federal, MHC and Atlantic Coast Federal Corporation, the holding companies of Atlantic Coast Bank, were merged into Atlantic Coast Financial Corporation, a Maryland corporation. Atlantic Coast Bank is 100% owned by Atlantic Coast Financial Corporation, and Atlantic Coast Financial Corporation is 100% owned by public stockholders (Nasdaq: ACFC).