Hilton Head-founded bank CEO rings New York Stock Exchange bell
Representatives for Coastal States Bank, which opened in Hilton Head Island in 2004, rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday to celebrate the July public launch of its Atlanta-based holding company.
CoastalSouth Bancshares Inc. President and CEO Stephen R. Stone and board chairman James S. MacLeod rang the opening bell Wednesday morning to mark the start of trading for the day. They were surrounded by a group of about a dozen as they pressed the button and marked the market’s open.
The holding company, listed on the stock exchange as COSO, went public July 2 with an initial public offering of $21.50 per share.
Speaking to The Island Packet after the bell ringing, Stone said the opportunity to mark the start of trading for the day was an “honor.”
“It’s such a historic place, and celebrating an event like the huge milestone of Coastal States Bank and holding company CoastalSouth is the culmination of a lot of hard work with a lot of people,” he said. “A very small deal team worked on the IPO, but it took the entire company and I couldn’t be more proud.”
The commercial bank has two Hilton Head retail locations, plus a location each in Bluffton, Okatie, Beaufort and Savannah, Georgia and five in the Atlanta metro area. The Beaufort location opened last year, Stone said, and the bank foresees continued growth in the Lowcountry, through a combination of brick-and-mortar locations, growing its network and adding new commercial bankers.
Beaufort is its northernmost location, but the company sees more growth opportunities in the Lowcountry as far north as Charleston, Stone said. CoastalSouth raised $40 million of primary capital during its IPO, he said.
“The sky’s the limit, if we find good commercial bankers who buy into our core values and business model,” Stone said.
Net income for the company the third quarter was $6.7 million, compared to $7.9 million in the same quarter the year before. CoastalSouth Bancshares had 194 full-time equivalent employees as of Sept. 3; Laura Fraser, a 15-year veteran of the commercial banking industry, was tapped to lead the company’s Lowcountry market in September.
COSO traded at $23 per share at market close Jan. 6 and opened at the same price Wednesday before shooting up to $23.10 at 10:21 a.m.
This story was originally published January 7, 2026 at 9:42 AM.