South Carolina Business Review

The challenges facing small banks

By Mike Switzer

Published November 7, 2025 at 6:30 AM EST

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Brent Garrett, chair of the Independent Banks of South Carolina

Community banks, those that are the smaller, local banks, are often the ones that small businesses turn to for loans and other banking needs. But they are also often overshadowed by the bigger, national, and regional banks. Which is why our next guest’s organization was formed. Mike Switzer interviews Brent Garrett, chair of the Independent Banks of South Carolina.

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Mike Switzer

After almost 20 years, Mike Switzer retired from Wells Fargo Securities in 2001 as Senior Vice President/Investment Officer and Certified Portfolio Manager. In 1999, he and his wife, Maggie, purchased and operated for eight years the Baskin Robbins ice cream store on Forest Drive in Columbia. They grew the store from a bottom-tier operation in the Baskin Robbins franchise system to one in the top 5% nationwide within three years, tripling sales along the way. While operating the ice cream store, Mike and Maggie received patents for a portable ice cream sink and fold-down sneezeguard they invented and in 2002 started Magnolia Carts, an ice cream cart manufacturing company, which they sold in 2013.

See stories by Mike Switzer