Security Savings Bank started as Southport Building & Loan Association in 1911. A group of Southport businessmen formed what is now known as Security Savings Bank in the corner of a downtown pharmacy because they wanted to give the citizens of the local community the ability to acquire and own their homes. The starting capital for Southport Building & Loan was $6,200. The Bank’s first loan was for $500 to purchase a house still standing today in its original location on North Atlantic Avenue. Today, Security Savings has nine branches in Brunswick and Randolph counties and assets in excess of $300 million.

On October 11, 1911 during the organization meeting of Southport Building & Loan, Mr. M.C. Guthrie was elected the Association’s first president, Mr. S. B. Northrop became vice president and Dr. D. I. Watson was named secretary-treasurer and managing officer. Dr. Watson, or “Doc” as he was locally known, held this position for many years. He was a colorful character who kept the building and loan’s records in a cigar box in one corner of his prescription department at Watson’s Pharmacy, located on Moore Street in the present-day Pharmacy restaurant.

Doc Watson was a man who took his job very seriously and kept a close eye on the Association’s business affairs. For Doc, Saturday was the end of the workweek, and those who were late in paying on their shares were assessed a penalty. It is a matter of record that Doc Watson exacted those penalties without show of favoritism. There are also stories of members who considered their accounts a sort of transient spending fund and sought to borrow from the accounts after a weekend of unwise spending. When they came to the drug store to seek financial relief, Doc would tell them, "Well, you ain't going to get it", thus encouraging the practice of uninterrupted thrift. Doc was also known to make loans to depositors from his own funds when he knew they were in genuine economic distress.

Doc Watson served as secretary-treasurer and managing officer until 1933 when he turned over the responsibility to Mr. James Carr, one of the most beloved businessmen in the City of Southport’s history. When Carr became managing officer, the Association moved its office to the Smith Building on Moore Street. The office remained there until 1958 when the Bank moved into a new location on Moore Street, sharing a new building (currently Thai Peppers Restaurant) with the United States Post Office. In 1975, the Southport branch office was moved to its present location at the corner of Howe and Moore Street.

Despite the worldwide depression of the 1930s and World War II, Security Savings grew steadily through the '30s and '40s. A review of the Association's records, however, provides a glimpse of how difficult it was to conduct business in those days. A letter from the North Carolina state insurance commissioner, written as the depression deepened in 1932, warns that building and loan associations "should not undertake to finance new loans at this time, nor should withdrawal requests be granted until sufficient funds are in hand to meet maturities."

The Association's annual report for 1942 notes, "We begin the new year with the entire world at war, a war not only between dictatorship and democracy, but between the forces of good and evil. So let us look first to our eternal God for strength and guidance in this hour of turmoil and distress. Then let each of us begin the year 1942 with a renewed pledge to constantly improve ourselves, so that we can make this a better community in which to live."

The optimism that followed the war is reflected in a report to the shareholders dated January 25, 1946. "Mortgage loans are slightly higher than last year and indications are that applications for loans will increase as all restrictions have been lifted on building," read the report.

In an effort to serve all areas of Brunswick County, the Association opened a branch office in Shallotte in 1964. The Bank’s name was changed to Security Savings and Loan Association in 1964, reflecting the Board of Directors’ decision to expand services outside the immediate Southport area. Emphasis continued to be on local thrift and local lending for the purchase and construction of homes, which resulted in a strong economic impact throughout Brunswick County. In 1974 an additional branch office was opened in a third Brunswick County community, Leland. Two more branches were opened in the 1980’s: Calabash in 1983 and Oak Island in 1986.
The Association's commitment to local mortgage lending and its strong balance sheet enabled Security to avoid the economic troubles that plagued many savings and loans during the 1980s following deregulation of the industry. In 1994 the Association converted to a state chartered savings bank changing its name to Security Savings Bank. The primary reason for this change was to identify the Bank as one of the best managed, well capitalized savings institutions in North Carolina.

Security reached across the state to Randolph County in 1999 to merge with Randleman Savings Bank. A subsequent merger with Liberty Savings and Loan Association, also in Randolph County, in 2003 provided Security with an even larger profile in the state’s booming Piedmont region.

During this same period of time, an additional Brunswick County branch was opened in Sunset Beach in 2001, and the Bank’s latest branch office, Smithville Village, was opened in the summer of 2004 in a planned commercial development near Southport.

We have grown a lot since that $500 loan in 1911, but our values and commitment to the communities we serve have remained the same. We take pride in providing Neighbor-to-Neighbor service you can bank on.