Corporate history. Carolina Trust BancShares, Inc. (the "Company") was incorporated under the laws of the State of North Carolina on February 29, 2016, at the direction of the Board of Directors of Carolina Trust Bank (the "Bank"). The Company was formed for the purpose of serving as the bank holding company of the Bank. Effective August 16, 2016, shareholders of the Bank exchanged all of the Bank's outstanding shares of common stock for shares of the Company's common stock on a one-for-one basis, thereby making the Company the Bank's sole shareholder and bank holding company. The Company is registered under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended ("BHCA") and is subject to the supervision and regulation of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the "Federal Reserve"). The Company currently has no operations and conducts no business on its own other than owning the Bank. The Company's principal executive offices are located at 901 East Main Street, Lincolnton, North Carolina, which is the main office of the Bank.
The Bank is a North Carolina-chartered commercial bank with its deposits insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC") up to applicable limits. The Bank is not a member of the Federal Reserve System. The Bank was incorporated on December 5, 2000, and began operations on December 8, 2000. On October 15, 2009, the Bank acquired Carolina Commerce Bank, Gastonia, North Carolina ("Carolina Commerce"), with Carolina Commerce being merged with and into the Bank. On January 1, 2019, the Company acquired Clover Community Bankshares, Inc. ("Clover"), the parent holding company for Clover Community Bank, Clover, South Carolina. Pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Merger and Reorganization between the Company and Clover dated June 14, 2018, Clover merged with and into the Company, with the Company being the surviving corporation in the merger. Immediately following the parent merger, Clover Community Bank was merged with and into Carolina Trust Bank, also effective January 1, 2019.
Employees. At December 31, 2018, the Company and the Bank together had 80 full-time and 8 part-time employees.