A former financial official with Gainesville ties has been prohibited by federal regulators from banking.

S. Pope Cleghorn Jr. is the former president and CEO of the now-defunct HomeTown Bank of Villa Rica, an affiliate of the also closed Gainesville Bank & Trust. According to a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation report, Cleghorn had participated in “unsafe or unsound banking practices ... involv(ing) personal dishonesty.” It also noted the bank suffered financial loss from the practices, while Cleghorn benefited financially.

The report did not go into further detail on the alleged practices but stated Cleghorn is “unfit to serve” as a director or officer at a bank. Cleghorn will no longer be able to take part in any banking affairs without consent from the FDIC

According to the three-page report, Cleghorn waived the right to a hearing. In agreeing to the order, he neither confirmed nor denied any misconduct.

Both HomeTown Bank and Gainesville Bank & Trust were owned by GB&T Bancshares, which was acquired in 2008 by SunTrust Banks Inc.

In 2007, GB&T announced that improper loans made by their president, whom they did not name at the time but who was listed as Cleghorn in an annual report, had contributed to them posting a $1.9 million fourth quarter loss. A month earlier the company had announced a $4 million profit for the final three months of 2006.