8-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of report (Date of earliest event reported): November 10, 2010

Ameris Bancorp

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

Georgia	001-13901	58-1456434
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation)	(Commission File Number)	(IRS Employer Identification No.)

310 First Street, S.E., Moultrie, Georgia	31768
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)	(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (229) 890-1111

(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

¨ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

¨ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Item 7.01. Regulation FD Disclosure.

On November 11, 2010, Edwin W. Hortman, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of Ameris Bancorp (the “Company”), and Dennis J. Zember Jr., Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Company, will give presentation to attendees at the Sandler O’Neill + Partners, L.P. East Coast Financial Services Conference in Aventura, Florida. A copy of the investor presentation materials is being furnished as an exhibit to this report and is incorporated by reference into this Item 7.01.

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits.

99.1 Investor Presentation Materials

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Company has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

AMERIS BANCORP
By:	/s/ Dennis J. Zember Jr.
	Dennis J. Zember Jr.
	Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Dated: November 10, 2010

EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit No.	Exhibit
99.1	Investor Presentation Materials

EX-99.1

Sandler O’Neill + Partners

East Coast Financial Services Conference

November 2010

Exhibit 99.1

This

presentation

contains

certain

performance

measures

determined

by

methods

other

than

in

accordance

with

accounting

principles

generally

accepted

in

the

United

States

of

America

(“GAAP”).

Management

of

Ameris

Bancorp

(the

“Company”)

uses

these

non-GAAP

measures

in

its

analysis

of

the

Company’s

performance.

These

measures

are

useful

when

evaluating

the

underlying

performance

and

efficiency

of

the

Company’s

operations

and

balance

sheet.

The

Company’s

management

believes

that

these

non-GAAP

measures

provide

a

greater

understanding

of

ongoing

operations,

enhance

comparability

of

results

with

prior

periods

and

demonstrate

the

effects

of

significant

gains

and

charges

in

the

current

period.

The

Company’s

management

believes

that

investors

may

use

these

non-GAAP

financial

measures

to

evaluate

the

Company’s

financial

performance

without

the

impact

of

unusual

items

that

may

obscure

trends

in

the

Company’s

underlying

performance.

These

disclosures

should

not

be

viewed

as

a

substitute

for

financial

measures

determined

in

accordance

with

GAAP,

nor

are

they

necessarily

comparable

to

non-GAAP

performance

measures

that

may

be

presented

by

other

companies.

Tangible

common

equity

and

Tier

1

capital

ratios

are

non-GAAP

measures.

The

Company

calculates

the

Tier

1

capital

using

current

call

report

instructions.

The

Company’s

management

uses

these

measures

to

assess

the

quality

of

capital

and

believes

that

investors

may

find

them

useful

in

their

evaluation

of

the

Company.

These

capital

measures

may,

or

may

not

be

necessarily

comparable

to

similar

capital

measures

that

may

be

presented

by

other

companies.

This

presentation

may

contain

statements

that

constitute

“forward-looking

statements”

within

the

meaning

of

Section

27A

of

the

Securities

Act

of

1933,

as

amended,

and

Section

21E

of

the

Securities

Exchange

Act

of

1934,

as

amended.

The

words

“believe”,

“estimate”,

“expect”,

“intend”,

“anticipate”

and

similar

expressions

and

variations

thereof

identify

certain

of

such

forward-looking

statements,

which

speak

only

as

of

the

dates

which

they

were

made.

The

Company

undertakes

no

obligation

to

publicly

update

or

revise

any

forward-looking

statements,

whether

as

a

result

of

new

information,

future

events

or

otherwise.

Readers

are

cautioned

that

any

such

forward-looking

statements

are

not

guarantees

of

future

performance

and

involve

risks

and

uncertainties

and

that

actual

results

may

differ

materially

from

those

indicated

in

the

forward-looking

statements

as

a

result

of

various

factors.

Readers

are

cautioned

not

to

place

undue

reliance

on

these

forward-looking

statements

and

are

referred

to

the

Company’s

periodic

filings

with

the

Securities

and

Exchange

Commission

for

a

summary

of

certain

factors

that

may

impact

the

Company’s

results

of

operations

and

financial

condition.

Cautionary Statements

Cautionary Statements

2

Corporate Profile

Corporate Profile

•

Headquartered in Moultrie, Georgia

•

Founded in 1971 as the American Banking

Company

•

Historically grown through acquisitions of smaller

banks in areas close to existing operations

•

Recent growth through de novo expansion

strategy and 4 FDIC-assisted transactions

•

Four state footprint with 50 offices

•

Approximately 570

FTEs managing 150,000 core

customer accounts

•

Assets –

$2.5 billion

Loans –

$1.6 billion

Deposits –

$2.1 billion

Alabama

Alabama

Huntsville

Birmingham

Mobile

Columbus

Georgia

Georgia

Tallahassee

Moultrie

Moultrie

Macon

Atlanta

Augusta

Jacksonville

Orlando

Tampa

Ft. Myers

Miami

Savannah

Charleston

Columbia

Spartanburg

Montgomery

Greenville

South Carolina

South Carolina

Florida

Florida

3

Experienced Management Team

Experienced Management Team

4

NAME / POSITION

EXPERIENCE

(Banking / Ameris)

PREVIOUS

EXPERIENCE

Edwin W. Hortman Jr.

President & Chief Executive Officer

30/12

Colony Bankcorp, Inc.

Dennis J. Zember Jr.

EVP & Chief Financial Officer

15/6

Flag Financial Corporation

Jon S. Edwards

EVP & Director of Credit Administration

26/11

NationsBank, Federal Reserve

Andrew B. Cheney

EVP & Banking Group President

35/2

Barnett Bank, Mercantile Bank

Marc J. Bogan

EVP & Chief Operating Officer

19/3

South Carolina Bank and Trust

Cindi H. Lewis

EVP, Chief Administrative Officer &

Corporate Secretary

31/31

Officer at Ameris Bank since 1987

Management and Board Ownership of Approximately 15%

Current Focus

Current Focus

Remain Well-Positioned to Capitalize on Opportunities

One of a limited number of southeastern banks able to participate in FDIC or whole bank

transactions

Significant opportunities in and around our footprint

Aggressively Deal with Credit Issues

Continue to be aggressive in recognizing and charging off problem credits

Aggressively value problem loans and OREO

Improve Core Earnings & Build Deposit Reserves

Continue to tweak funding costs and operating expense burden

Amassing large base of low cost deposit reserves for future investment

Maintain

core

earnings

at

a

level

that

covers

anticipated

credit

costs

5

•

Diversified loan portfolio across five regions

–

Inland Georgia –

42%

–

Coastal Georgia –

12%

–

Alabama –

14%

•

In-house lending limit of $5 million versus $75 million legal limit

–

2 loans above $5 million

•

Loan participations less than 1.00% of total loans

•

Low average loan size ($86k)

•

Aggressive management of concentrations of credit

Loan Portfolio Detail

Loan Portfolio Detail

6

Loan

Portfolio

Detail

–

9/30/10

–

South Carolina –

18%

–

Florida –

14%

Loan Type

Average Loan

Size

Average

Rate

Commercial R/E

$    341,833

5.59 %

C&D

139,806

5.09

Residential

65,515

6.16

C&I

45,514

5.75

Consumer

7,419

7.36

Agriculture

118,801

6.10

Total

$      85,685

5.76 %

C&D and CRE Detail

C&D and CRE Detail

(in millions)

(in millions)

7

C&D Portfolio

C&D Portfolio

CRE Portfolio (Non Owner-Occupied)

CRE Portfolio (Non Owner-Occupied)

-

49% of our CRE portfolio

is owner-occupied

-

Average CRE loan is $342k

Data as of 6/30/10; excludes covered loans

-

Reduced outstandings

31% in last

12 months

-

Average LTV is 72%

-

Average appraisal age is 9 months

-

36% of all YTD NCO’s

Managing Asset Quality

Managing Asset Quality

Nonperforming Loans vs. OREO ($MM)

Nonperforming Loans vs. OREO ($MM)

All

Classified

Assets

–

Peaked

in

11/09

C&D as a Percentage of Capital

Data as of 9/30/10; excludes covered loans

8

Credit Cycle

Credit Cycle

9

•

Only

$30.7

million

of

accruing

substandard

loans.

Down

57%

from

the

peak

in

June

2009.

•

Non-Accrual

loans

held

at

44.5%

of

original

appraisal.

•

OREO

held

at

41.9%

of

original

appraisal

(76.6% of current appraisal).

•

Values

are

appropriate

for

sale

to

end

users. 

Investor sales require more discounts.

(1)  Cumulative losses defined as provision for loan losses plus  (gains)/losses on the sale of OREO 

(2)  Net Book balance of classified loans and non-accruing loans is net of LLR totaling $5.7 million and $16.8 million, respectively

Cumulative

losses

in

Current

Economic

Cycle

(1)

Conservative

Carrying

Values

of

Classified

Assets

(2)

•

Analysis

shows

that

Ameris

Bank

is

70%

-80%

through

the

current

cycle

with

no

dilution

to

TBV or capital levels.

•

Forecasted

cumulative

losses

for

remainder

of cycle is $55 million.

•

Forecasted

pre-tax,

pre-credit

earnings

for

remainder of cycle is  $59.2 million.

•

ABCB

forecasts

10%

-

11%

cumulative

charge-offs.

Third Quarter Update

Third Quarter Update

10

(1) Excludes covered assets, where applicable

dollars in millions, except per share data

Q3 '09

Q4 '09

Q1 '10

Q2 '10

Q3 '10

Balance Sheet

Assets

$     2,207

$     2,424

$     2,352

$     2,422

$    2,435

Loans, net

1,611

1,686

1,627

1,651

1,614

Tangible Common Equity / Assets

5.84

%

5.86

%

5.97

%

9.17

%

9.08

Tangible Book Value

$        9.00

$     10.10

$        9.94

$        9.43

$       9.35

PERFORMANCE

Pre-tax, pre-credit earnings

$     9,441

$     9,588

$   10,513

$   11,876

$  11,847

Diluted earnings per share

(0.06)

(2.84)

(0.17)

(0.18)

(0.07)

Net interest margin (TE)

3.65

%

3.66

%

3.92

%

4.01

%

4.04

%

Efficiency ratio

65.83

85.10

66.93

63.35

70.08

CREDIT QUALITY

(1)

NPAs / Assets

4.79

%

4.85

%

5.21

%

5.62

%

5.67

%

NCOs / Avg loans

2.70

5.14

3.12

4.22

2.14

Reserves / Loans

2.54

2.26

2.18

2.25

2.33

Reserves / NPLs

49.99

37.20

37.44

36.37

37.99

Local Deposit Customers drive Profitability

Local Deposit Customers drive Profitability

11

•

Strategy produces 20% more funding from local deposits than our peer group

•

Much less rate sensitive, produces lower COF and higher margins

•

Sales

culture

focuses

solely

on

driving

more

retail

and

business

transaction

accounts

Retail Funding as a % of total Funding

Retail Funding as a % of total Funding

Deposit Composition –

Deposit Composition –

–

9/30/10

9/30/10

Strong Core Operating Performance

Strong Core Operating Performance

12

Source: SNL Financial

(1)

Credit expenses include provision, OREO losses, problem loan expense and interest reversals on non-accrual loans

Excludes non-recurring charges for goodwill impairment of $54.8 million

(2)

ABCB net interest margin on a fully taxable-equivalent basis

“Project 2010”

•

A comprehensive plan covering numerous cost saving initiatives

•

Expect to improve pre-tax, pre-credit income by approximately $9.6

million in 2010

–

Increase net interest income by $2.6 million

–

Improve non-interest income by $0.9 million

–

Reduce operating expense by $6.1 million

Pre-Tax, Pre-Credit Earnings

(1)

($000s)

Net Interest Margin

(2)

(%)

Recent Successes

FDIC-Assisted Acquisitions

•

Announced purchase and assumption agreements with FDIC loss sharing to acquire

–

American

United

Bank

(10/23/09)

-

$125

million

in

assets,

$12.1

million

gain

–

United

Security

Bank

(11/6/09)

-

$150

million

in

assets,

$26.5

million

gain

–

Satilla Community Bank (5/14/10) $105 million in assets, $8.2 million gain

–

First Bank Jacksonville (10/24/10) $75 million in assets, $0.3 million gain

•

Consolidating 2 of the 4 branches acquired

–

Keeping only profitable, core deposit relationships

–

Jacksonville

acquisition

adds

two

branches

in

our

primary

growth

market

•

Significant  capacity to continue acquiring

–

Current capital and operating resources allow

for significant

participation in FDIC transactions

–

Covered assets are only 11.6% of total assets

–

Experienced 20 person Special Assets Division

13

Protected Tangible Book Value

Protected Tangible Book Value

Tangible Book Value Per Share

Tangible Book Value Per Share

(1)

(1)

-No dilution during

economic downturn

-

Capital raise completed

at 99% of pro-forma TBV

-

Core earnings stream

covers anticipated credit

costs and protects TCE

going forward

14

(1)   Tangible book value per share adjusted for stock dividends

Potential Consolidation Opportunities

Potential Consolidation Opportunities

Potential

Opportunities

Headquartered

Within

75

Miles

of

an

ABCB

Branch

(1)

Potential

Opportunity

Asset

Size

Distribution

(1)

Number of

Number of

Deposits

State

Institutions

Branches

($MM)

Alabama

2

6

151

$        

Florida

14

71

3,082

Georgia

67

268

16,091

South Carolina

9

70

2,887

Total

92

415

22,211

$   

21

4

63

2

2

0

20

40

60

80

< $250

$250 - $500

$500 - $750

$750 - $1,000

> $1,000

Asset Range ($MM)

Source: SNL Financial

Data as of 6/30/10

(1)

Potential

Opportunities

include

banks

and

thrifts

with

Texas

Ratios

greater

than

100%,

headquartered

within

75

miles

of

an

ABCB

branch

South

South

Carolina

Carolina

Georgia

Georgia

Alabama

Alabama

Huntsville

Birmingham

Montgomery

Columbus

Macon

Augusta

Spartanburg

Columbia

Tallahassee

Jacksonville

AtlantaAtlanta

Orlando

Tampa

Savannah

Charleston

Moultrie

Ameris Branch

Potential Opportunity

(1)

South

South

Carolina

Carolina

Georgia

Georgia

Florida

FloridaFlorida

Alabama

Alabama

Huntsville

Birmingham

Montgomery

Columbus

Macon

Augusta

Spartanburg

Columbia

Jacksonville

Orlando

Tampa

Savannah

Moultrie

Tallahassee

Charleston

South

South

Carolina

Carolina

Georgia

Georgia

Alabama

Alabama

Huntsville

Birmingham

Montgomery

Columbus

Macon

Augusta

Spartanburg

Columbia

Tallahassee

Jacksonville

AtlantaAtlanta

Orlando

Tampa

Savannah

Charleston

Moultrie

Ameris Branch

Potential Opportunity

(1)

South

South

Carolina

Carolina

Georgia

Georgia

Florida

Alabama

Alabama

Huntsville

Birmingham

Montgomery

Columbus

Macon

Augusta

Spartanburg

Columbia

Jacksonville

Orlando

Tampa

Savannah

Moultrie

Tallahassee

Charleston

15

Sandler O’Neill + Partners

East Coast Financial Services Conference

November 2010