With a booming population of four million and another two million expected in the next 20 years, metropolitan Atlanta has been called the fastest-growing community on earth. In metro Atlanta, Colonial has 11 branches, with another 10 throughout Georgia, and is adding two more this year, including a boutique branch in Park Springs, a new upscale retirement community near Stone Mountain. Even though a much smaller branch presence compared to the bigger competition of such a large market might seem to be an obstacle, Colonial has achieved success by attracting many customers to its convenient electronic banking and private banking services.

Nothing is more convenient than to do your banking from home, your office or while sitting in your car. Colonial’s Atlanta market has some of the Company’s best penetration rates of electronic banking services to checking accounts. In 2003, Internet banking as a percentage of personal checking households grew to 32.6% and personal check cards as a percentage of personal checking accounts grew to 54.8%.

Another, completely different, style of banking Colonial has begun to specialize in is private banking. Colonial is winning the business of those Atlanta customers who have grown tired of big banks that have forgotten their names. Much of this success has been gained by attracting a business owner’s commercial banking business which in turn leads them to bring their personal private banking business to Colonial.