NOTE 17 – Related Party Transactions

Certain directors, executive officers, and companies with which they are affiliated, are clients of and have banking transactions with the Company in the ordinary course of business. These loans were made on substantially the same terms, including interest rates and collateral, as those prevailing at the time for comparable transactions with persons not related to the lender.

A summary of loan transactions with directors and executive officers, including their affiliates is as follows:


	For the years ended December 31,
(dollars in thousands)		2017			2016
Balance, beginning of year		$	14,825		12,868
New loans			6,843		5,103
Less loan payments			(6,392	)	(3,146	)
Balance, end of year		$	15,276		14,825

Deposits by executive officers and directors and their related interests at December 31, 2017 and 2016, were $3.5 million and $6.3 million, respectively.

The Company has a land lease with a director on the property for a branch office, with monthly payments of $5,388. In addition, the Company periodically enters into various consulting agreements with the director for development, administration and advisory services related to the purchase of property and construction of current and future branch office sites. Also, the Company contracts with the director on an annual basis to provide property management services for its four offices in the Greenville market. The Company paid the director approximately $38,000, $29,000, and $31,000 for these services during 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively.

The Company also utilizes employment recruiting services from a vendor for which one of the Company’s directors is an owner and serves as the chairman of the board. The Company paid approximately $87,000 to the vendor for the year ended December 31, 2017.

The Company is of the opinion that the lease payments, consulting fees, and signage costs represent market costs that could have been obtained in similar “arms length” transactions.