January 29, 2010 (FinancialWire) — Southwest Georgia Financial Corp. (AMEX: SGB), the parent company of Southwest Georgia Bank, said that its board of directors has declared a cash dividend of $0.10 per common share. The dividend is payable February 15, 2010 to shareholders of record on February 8, 2010.

The company has around 2.5 million shares of common stock outstanding.

Southwest Georgia Financial suspended cash dividends in March 2009, saying the move was due to the increased risks in the economic environment and to retain the equity necessary to support additional growth.

DeWitt Drew, president and CEO of Southwest Georgia Financial said that, “Over the last year, we have had solid consistent growth in both loans and core deposits, and earnings appear to have stabilized. Therefore, we believe we have sufficient equity to both support our continued growth and pay a cash dividend this quarter.”

He cautioned that economic risks “remain at a level such that we are not yet ready to resume regular quarterly dividends.”

The board of directors suspended regular quarterly cash dividends at its meeting March 25, 2009. The company paid a cash dividend of $0.07 per common share in January 2009, and paid cash dividends totaling $0.56 per share in 2008. Southwest Georgia Financial Corp. or its predecessor, Southwest Georgia Bank, had paid cash dividends for 82 consecutive years.

Georgia-based Southwest Georgia Financial is a state-chartered bank holding company whose primary subsidiary, Southwest Georgia Bank, operates banking facilities including a main office located in Colquitt County, branch offices located in Baker County, Thomas County, and Worth County, and a loan production office located in Lowndes County.

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