Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (SFST): Business Model Canvas [Dec-2025 Updated]

You're trying to figure out what makes a regional bank tick in today's competitive Southeast, especially one focused on high-touch service over sheer scale. Well, look at Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (SFST): they've built a business around dedicated Senior Officers serving SMBs and real estate players across South Carolina, North Carolina, and Atlanta, managing $4.35 Billion in total assets while keeping nonperforming assets incredibly low at just 0.26% as of Q1 2025. Their strategy is simple: local decisions drive loyalty. Still, their execution-backed by a 2.50% Net Interest Margin in Q2 2025-is what matters. Dive into the full Business Model Canvas below to see exactly how their Key Activities and Resources translate into that value proposition.

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (SFST) - Canvas Business Model: Key Partnerships

You're looking at the external relationships Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (SFST) relies on to run its operations, especially for technology and market reach. These aren't just casual connections; they are critical vendors and network affiliations.

Core data processing outsourced to Fidelity National Information Systems (FIS)

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. outsources its core data processing services and ATM processing to Fidelity National Information Systems. This arrangement means a major piece of the bank's operational backbone is managed externally. As of the end of Q2 2025, Southern First Bancshares, Inc. reported total assets of $4.31 billion, meaning FIS supports the processing for this scale of operation. The bank's focus on client service, which they call the ClientFIRST culture, is supported by this outsourced infrastructure.

Association with NYCE, Pulse, STAR, and Cirrus ATM networks

To provide broad access for its clients, Southern First Bancshares, Inc. partners with several major electronic funds transfer networks. This allows clients to use their cards outside the bank's physical footprint, which currently includes nine branches in South Carolina, three in North Carolina, and one in Atlanta, Georgia.

The bank also earns ATM transaction fees from non-clients using these networks, which contributes to revenue streams, though the specific fee income amount is not separately itemized from other fee income in the latest reports.

Local community organizations for market penetration and reputation

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. emphasizes supporting its communities as part of its strategy. The CEO noted a continued focus on supporting communities and attracting bankers who share a passion for delivering high-level client and community service. The addition of three new Board members in Q2 2025, noted for their 'incredible backgrounds of community involvement,' reinforces this focus for market penetration and reputation building across its operating areas.

• Focus on community support mentioned in Q1 and Q2 2025 updates.
• New board members bring expertise in community involvement.
• Strategy supports growth in vibrant Southeastern markets.

Correspondent banks for liquidity and specialized services

While the bank relies on core deposits-which totaled $3.64 billion as of Q2 2025, with almost 21% being non-interest bearing-for its principal funding, correspondent banking relationships are standard for managing liquidity and accessing specialized services not offered directly. Specific details, including the names of correspondent banks or the dollar amount of liquidity lines maintained, are not publicly detailed in the Q3 2025 filings. The bank's strong capital ratios, like the Tangible Common Equity (TCE) ratio of 8.02% in Q2 2025, suggest a solid foundation that minimizes immediate reliance on external funding beyond standard correspondent services. Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (SFST) - Canvas Business Model: Key Activities

You're looking at the core engine driving Southern First Bancshares, Inc.'s performance as of late 2025. The key activities center on disciplined growth and relationship-focused banking across its Southeastern footprint.

Managing a balance sheet with $4.35 Billion in total assets is the foundation. This scale, as of September 2025, supports the bank's operational focus. The total assets figure stood at $4.35 Billion USD as of September 2025. This represents a continued upward trajectory from prior periods, such as $4.08 Billion at the end of 2024.

The primary revenue-generating activity is Commercial and consumer lending, especially real estate loans. Total loans reached $3.8 billion by the third quarter of 2025. A closer look at the portfolio composition shows a significant concentration in real estate, with residential mortgages making up 31.1% of the total loan portfolio as of Q2 2025. The bank maintains superior asset quality, reporting nonperforming assets to total assets at just 0.27% and past due loans to total loans at 0.18% in Q3 2025.

Disciplined deposit gathering to manage funding costs is critical to funding that loan book. Core deposits were reported at $2.9 billion in Q3 2025, up from $2.8 billion in Q1 2025. This focus on client retail deposits is core to their relationship banking strategy. The net interest margin (NIM) reflects this discipline, hitting 2.62% in Q3 2025, an improvement from 2.50% in Q2 2025.

The operational model heavily relies on Relationship management via dedicated Senior Officers. The cornerstone of Southern First Bank is its Relationship Team, ensuring every client is assigned a specific Senior Officer and Client Officer, supported by a consistent staff. This personal touch is a key differentiator for the bank, which is headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina.

To support expansion and maintain service quality, Strategic hiring of experienced bankers for market expansion is an ongoing activity. Southern First Bank has established a presence beyond South Carolina, including markets like Atlanta, Georgia, and Raleigh, Greensboro, and Charlotte, North Carolina. The CEO noted the continued attraction and retention of experienced bankers who share the commitment to outstanding client service.

Here's a quick view of the key financial metrics underpinning these activities as of late 2025:

The bank's operational focus is clearly on high-quality loan generation funded by stable deposits, all managed through a high-touch relationship model across its Southeastern footprint. You can see the commitment to asset quality in their low nonperforming assets ratio.

• Nonperforming Assets / Total Assets: 0.27%
• Past Due Loans / Total Loans: 0.18%
• Diluted EPS: $1.07 (Q3 2025)
• Key Markets: Greenville, Columbia, Charleston, Atlanta, Raleigh, Greensboro, Charlotte

Finance: draft the Q4 2025 balance sheet projection by next Tuesday.

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (SFST) - Canvas Business Model: Key Resources

The Key Resources for Southern First Bancshares, Inc. are centered on its loan portfolio quality, the expertise of its people, and its targeted geographic footprint, all underpinned by solid capital levels.

Financial capital forms the base, evidenced by a substantial loan book and growing total assets.

The loan portfolio grew to $3.8 billion as of Q3 2025, up 4% annualized from Q2 2025. This growth is funded by client retail deposits, which is core to the full relationship banking strategy.

The Highly experienced Relationship Team and senior management are a cornerstone of the Southern First Bank model. The CEO, Art Seaver, noted the continued attraction and retention of experienced bankers.

• Relationship Team structure: Every client has a specific Senior Officer and Client Officer, plus consistent support staff.
• Leadership enhancement: Addition of three new Board members in Q2 2025, bringing diverse expertise.

The physical and digital presence supports client access across its markets. Southern First Bank operates a focused branch network across three states, leveraging local ownership and leadership.

The bank also deploys Digital banking platforms enabling online account management, mobile deposits, and real-time payments.

Strong capital ratios supporting continued growth provide ample support for business pipelines. The bank emphasizes superior asset quality metrics.

• Tangible Common Equity (TCE) Ratio (Q3 2025): 8.18%.
• Tangible Common Equity (TCE) Ratio (Q2 2025): 8.02%.
• Past due loans to total loans (Q3 2025): 0.18%.
• Nonperforming assets to total assets (Q3 2025): 0.27%.

Finance: review the Q3 2025 10-Q for the latest fully reported capital adequacy ratios by Friday.

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (SFST) - Canvas Business Model: Value Propositions

You're looking at what Southern First Bancshares, Inc. offers its customers that makes them choose this bank over others. It's all about the service model and the strength backing it up.

Highly personalized, relationship-first banking service is a core promise. The Chief Executive Officer noted that the team is focused on impacting lives by delivering the highest level of client and community service. This is supported by the continuous hiring of experienced and successful bankers to expand markets and add depth in existing areas.

For commercial clients, the value proposition centers on local decision-making and quick response times. The bank operates within high-growth Southeastern markets, which suggests a deep, localized understanding of regional business needs, allowing for faster execution than larger, more centralized institutions.

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. provides comprehensive financial solutions for professionals and businesses. This is evident in the structure of their loan portfolio, which shows significant diversification across key commercial segments as of Q2 2025.

Here's a look at the composition of the loan portfolio, showing where their expertise is concentrated:

The bank's commitment to quality underwriting is reflected in its strong asset quality. As reported for the first quarter of 2025, nonperforming assets stood at just 0.26% of total assets. This metric is a key indicator of the quality of the assets on the balance sheet.

Furthermore, the bank's financial foundation supports these offerings. The book value per share reached $42.23 as of Q2 2025, and the Tangible Common Equity ratio was reported at 7.88% in Q1 2025, providing balance sheet strength for continued growth.

The focus on specific lending areas highlights their expertise in commercial real estate, which comprised 43.4% of the total loan portfolio in Q2 2025. This concentration suggests specialized knowledge and established relationships within that sector.

You can see the value propositions distilled into a few key areas:

• Relationship-first service delivery.
• Rapid decision-making for commercial borrowers.
• Exceptional asset quality metrics.
• Deep specialization in commercial real estate lending.
• Strong capital position supporting growth.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (SFST) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Relationships

You're looking at how Southern First Bancshares, Inc. keeps its clients close, which is the whole point of their business structure.

Dedicated Senior Officer assigned to every client

The cornerstone of Southern First Bancshares, Inc. is its Relationship Team. This structure ensures that every client has a specific Senior Officer and Client Officer, supported by a consistent staff dedicated to handling all of that client's banking needs. This is part of their simple and efficient model they call ClientFIRST. This approach is designed to build and maintain long-term relationships with desirable clients.

The scale of the relationships they manage as of September 30, 2025, is reflected in the balance sheet:

Relationship-driven model fostering long-term client partnerships

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. explicitly states that funding high-quality loan growth with client retail deposits is core to its full relationship banking strategy. Their stated philosophy is Relationships First. This focus drives their operational discipline.

The emphasis on service translates into revenue growth from client activity:

• Service fees on deposit accounts increased 10% over the prior quarter (Q2 2025).
• Service fees on deposit accounts increased 37% over the prior year (Q3 2024).

High-touch, personalized service over transactional banking

The service model is built around Personal Service, where each account gets a dedicated team of bankers. The goal is to know you and your goals so they can help you achieve them. They use digital tools, like online and mobile banking, to handle everyday needs, which frees up their bankers to focus on complex transactions or unique needs where hands-on assistance is required. This focus on reducing back-office duties for bankers is critical to sustaining the premium service level.

The book value per common share as of the third quarter of 2025 stood at $43.51, showing the underlying value supporting these relationship investments.

Community involvement to build local trust and loyalty

The bank's mission is to impact lives in the communities they serve. They actively support local trust and loyalty through tangible actions and investments, which are evaluated under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).

For the 2025 public file, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) ratings for Southern First Bank were:

• Investment Test: Outstanding
• Service Test: High Satisfactory
• Lending Test: Low Satisfactory

The latest comprehensive community investment figures, reported as of the end of 2024, show direct financial support:

Further demonstrating commitment, in 2024, Southern First Bancshares, Inc.:

• Invested over $524,000 through monetary donations, sponsorships, and direct investments.
• Originated $69MM in loans with a purpose of Community Development.
• Associates completed over 2,700 hours of volunteering with local nonprofits.

Finance: draft the 13-week cash view by Friday.

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (SFST) - Canvas Business Model: Channels

You're looking at how Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (SFST) gets its services to clients as of late 2025. It's a mix of physical presence and digital tools, all anchored by personal relationships.

The physical branch network is concentrated in high-growth Southeastern markets. As of the Q3 2025 reporting period, Southern First Bancshares operates a total of 13 physical locations across three states.

The distribution of these physical access points is detailed below:

Direct access remains a core part of the strategy, emphasizing the relationship-first banking model. Every client is assigned a dedicated team.

• Dedicated Senior Officer and Client Officer for every account.
• Consistent support staff assigned to the Relationship Team.
• Continued attraction and retention of experienced bankers to expand markets.

Digital channels support the in-person service, offering convenience for routine tasks. Southern First Bancshares provides platforms for online account management and other electronic services.

The digital suite includes specific tools for client convenience:

• Internet banking services.
• Mobile banking services.
• Bill payment services.
• Remote Deposit Capture.
• eZBusiness Management and eZCard access.

For cash access, the bank relies on a shared ATM network association, which they view as supporting client convenience but not critical to overall success. The bank's total loans reached $3.8 billion as of Q3 2025, funded by core deposits of $2.9 billion.

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (SFST) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Segments

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. serves individuals and businesses across its focused geographic footprint in the Carolinas and Atlanta, Georgia. Total Assets stood at $4.31 billion as of June 30, 2025, up 5.4% from year-end 2024. Total Loans were valued at $3.71 billion at the end of Q2 2025. Total Deposits were $3.64 billion as of Q2 2025.

The bank's operations are primarily driven by its Commercial and Retail Banking segments, which include the provision of traditional deposit and lending products and services.

Small and midsize businesses (SMBs) in high-growth Southeastern markets

The bank operates in metropolitan areas projected to grow their populations by a rate about 2.5x the national average. The focus on business banking supports this segment. Commercial loans represented $2.28 billion, or 60.9% of the total loan portfolio as of June 30, 2025. Commercial business loans held a 15.7% share in one portfolio breakdown.

Affluent professionals and high-net-worth individuals

This group is served through the wealth management business segment. The deposit base reflects a strong relationship focus, with Retail deposits making up $3.08 billion, which is 84.6% of total deposits as of Q2 2025. Almost 21% of the bank's deposits were non-interest bearing as of Q2 2025.

Individual customers seeking residential mortgages and consumer banking

This segment is supported by traditional consumer banking services, including home mortgages. Residential mortgages accounted for the largest share of the loan portfolio at 31.1% as of Q2 2025. Consumer loans totaled $1.46 billion, which is 39.1% of total loans. Within consumer loans, real estate loans totaled $1.16 billion.

Commercial real estate investors and developers

This segment is heavily represented within the commercial lending portfolio. Non-owner-occupied loans accounted for 25.1% of the loan portfolio at the end of Q2 2025. Owner occupied loans were 18.3% of the portfolio. Specific real estate loan allocations within the commercial portfolio as of Q2 2025 include:

• Office loans: $221.1 million, representing 5.90% of the total portfolio.
• Retail loans: $186.5 million, representing 4.98% of the total portfolio.
• Hotel loans: $142.7 million, representing 3.81% of the total portfolio.
• Multifamily loans: $97.7 million, representing 2.61% of the total portfolio.

Here's the quick math on the loan portfolio composition as of Q2 2025, based on the percentage breakdown provided:

What this estimate hides is that the two percentage breakdowns for the loan portfolio don't perfectly align, which is common when looking at different reporting cuts, but the data points are real.

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (SFST) - Canvas Business Model: Cost Structure

You're looking at the core expenses that keep Southern First Bancshares, Inc. running, which is key to understanding their margins, especially as they grow.

The Cost Structure for Southern First Bancshares, Inc. is heavily weighted toward personnel and funding costs, which is typical for a relationship-focused bank. For the second quarter of 2025, the total Noninterest Expense was reported at $19.3 million. This represented a sequential increase of $500 thousand over the first quarter of 2025.

A major component of this is the cost associated with the team. The increase in noninterest expense from the second quarter of 2024 to the second quarter of 2025 was primarily driven by higher compensation and benefits costs, reflecting the company's strategy to attract and retain experienced bankers.

The cost of funding operations is also significant. While specific Q2 2025 interest expense on deposits isn't explicitly stated, the full year 2024 data shows that Deposits Interest Expense totaled $109 million. This highlights the ongoing, substantial nature of interest expense on interest-bearing deposits, even with the reported sequential decrease in Q2 2025 interest expense on deposits compared to Q1 2025.

Other key noninterest costs contributing to the Q2 2025 increase included outside service and data processing costs and professional fees.

The physical footprint also drives costs. Southern First Bank operates across 13 branch locations: nine in South Carolina, three in North Carolina, and one in Atlanta, Georgia. For context on fixed overhead, the annual figure for Net Occupancy & Equipment Expense in 2024 was $18 million.

Here's a breakdown of key expense line items where data is available:

You can see the primary drivers of the recent noninterest expense rise:

• Increases in compensation and benefits costs.
• Rising outside service and data processing costs.
• Higher professional fees.
• Decreases in insurance expense provided some offset.

The bank's commitment to its service model means personnel costs are a structural element of its operating expense base. Finance: draft Q3 2025 expense comparison by next Tuesday.

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (SFST) - Canvas Business Model: Revenue Streams

The revenue streams for Southern First Bancshares, Inc. are fundamentally driven by traditional banking activities, heavily weighted toward interest income from its loan book, supplemented by various fee-based services. This structure reflects a full relationship banking strategy focused on high-quality loan growth funded by client retail deposits.

Net Interest Income (NII) remains the primary engine. This is the difference between interest earned on assets, primarily the loan portfolio, and interest paid on liabilities, like deposits. For context on the first half of the year, Southern First Bancshares achieved a 2.50% Net Interest Margin (NIM) in the second quarter of 2025. By the third quarter of 2025, the NIM had expanded further to 2.62%, showing continued pricing discipline. Net interest income for Q3 2025 was reported at $27.5 million, a year-over-year increase of 33.7%.

Non-interest income provides a crucial secondary stream. For the third quarter of 2025, total noninterest income reached $3.6 million. Mortgage banking income is consistently the largest component within this category. As specified for the second quarter of 2025, this fee revenue was $1.6 million. This figure held steady at $1.6 million in fee revenue for the third quarter of 2025 as well.

The total revenue picture for the Trailing Twelve Month (TTM) period ending with the third quarter of 2025 demonstrates significant growth. Southern First Bancshares reported a Total Trailing Twelve Month (TTM) revenue of $109.39 million (ending Q3 2025), which represented a year-over-year increase of 21.32%.

Other fee-based revenue sources support the overall model, derived from the bank's service offerings:

• Fees from deposit accounts, cash management, and treasury services.
• Service charges on customer accounts and ATM transaction fees.

The growth in deposit-related fees is notable. Specifically, service fees on deposit accounts increased 10% over the prior quarter and 37% over the prior year as of Q3 2025.

Here's a quick look at the key components contributing to the revenue base, using the latest reported quarterly figures where available:

The bank's reported total revenue for the third quarter of 2025 was $31.13 million, surpassing consensus estimates. This revenue growth was achieved at a rate two and a half times its expense growth for the quarter.