Aquesta Bank hires exec to oversee expansion into Charlotte

Cornelius-based Aquesta Bank has named a banker to oversee its growth in Charlotte, a market it entered last year with the purchase of a branch in SouthPark.

Jon McConnell, who most recently worked for BB&T, will help develop and grow Aquesta’s commercial relationships in the Charlotte area. As “Charlotte City Executive,” he will be responsible for “aggressively” marketing and promoting the community bank to boost its loans and deposits, Aquesta said.

Aquesta purchased the SouthPark branch on Sharon Road from CertusBank, which sold off branches last year as the struggling lender exited its bank operations. The sale gave Aquesta, founded in 2006, its first branch outside the Lake Norman area.

In addition to the SouthPark branch, Aquesta has six other branches, which are spread across Cornelius, Davidson, Mooresville and Huntersville.

It plans to open a branch in Wilmington in June, marking its first branch outside of the Charlotte metropolitan area.

This story was originally published April 22, 2016 at 12:19 PM with the headline "Aquesta Bank hires exec to oversee expansion into Charlotte."