Charleston-based CresCom Bank will open its first branch in Wilmington in early April, according to officials. The bank received federal approval for the new location Jan. 19.

The bank entered the regional market in December 2014 when it acquired 13 – then consolidated into 12 – First Community Bank branches in North and South Carolina, plus a loan processing office in Wilmington. Since then CresCom has planned for a larger presence in the greater Wilmington market, said bank CEO David Morrow.

In January 2015 CresCom purchased the former Cape Fear Federal Credit Union building at 4710 Oleander Drive and subsequently moved its loan production office there. The office, which currently houses four loan officers, will become the full-service branch location, officials said Wednesday.

CresCom was created in 2011 with the merger of Charleston-based Community First Bank and Myrtle Beach-based Crescent Bank. It went public in 2014.

CresCom Bank operates 26 branch locations in coastal North and South Carolina and in 2015 extended its footprint with a new branch in Greenville, South Carolina. In Brunswick County, CresCom has branches in Southport, Shallotte, Holden Beach and Sunset Beach.

The bank's parent, Carolina Financial Corp., had about $1.3 billion in total assets as of September 30, according to its  website.