UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):
December 22, 2017

UNITED COMMUNITY BANKS, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

125 Highway 515 East
Blairsville, Georgia 30512
(Address of principal executive offices)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:
(706) 781-2265

Not applicable
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company ¨

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨

Item 8.01 Other Events.

On December 22, 2017, “H.R.1”, formerly known as the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act”, was signed into law. Among other items, H.R.1 reduces the federal corporate tax rate to 21% effective January 1, 2018. As a result, United Community Banks, Inc. (the “Company”) has concluded that this will cause the Company’s net deferred tax asset to be revalued. The Company’s net deferred tax asset represents net operating loss carryforwards that will be used to reduce corporate taxes expected to be paid in the future as well as differences between the carrying amounts and tax bases of assets and liabilities carried on the Company’s balance sheet. The Company performed an analysis to determine the impact of the revaluation of the deferred tax asset. It is estimated that the value of the deferred tax asset will be reduced by a range of approximately $37 to $41 million. The estimated fourth quarter earnings impact would be approximately ($0.48) to ($0.53) per share and the estimated tangible book value impact would be approximately ($0.47) to ($0.52) per share.

The Company’s revaluation of its net deferred tax asset is subject to further clarifications of the new law that cannot be estimated at this time. As such, the Company is unable to make a final determination of the impact on the quarterly and year to date earnings for the period ending December 31, 2017 at this time.

To the extent required, the Company may file one or more amendments to this Current Report.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information.

This Current Report contains “forward-looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In general, forward-looking statements usually use words such as “may,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “will,” “should,” “plan,” “estimate,” “predict,” “continue” and “potential” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements represent management’s beliefs, based upon information available at the time the statements are made, with regard to the matters addressed; they are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties that change over time and could cause actual results or financial condition to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such statements.

Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, the factors and risk influences contained in the cautionary language included under the headings “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 and other documents subsequently filed by the Company with the SEC. Consequently, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For any forward-looking statements made in this Current Report on Form 8-K, the exhibits hereto or any related documents, the Company claims protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

Date: December 29, 2017