On December 13, 1974, an office of the
First National Bank of
Rocky Mount
opened in
Rocky Mount,
VA
with eight employees. This was the first bank created by Worth
Harris Carter, Jr. of
Martinsville
and a group of prominent local business people.
A plan submitted to Regulators in
1973 stated that the banking philosophy for FNBRM and other
proposed banks would place emphasis on consumer services with
lower interest rates on loans and lower service charges than
were being charged in the area at that time. The plan also
stated that higher rates on deposit products would be offered.
In October 1976, the first office
of Patrick Henry National Bank opened in Bassett. Later that
same year, the conversion of Danville-based Peoples Industrial
Loan Corporation to Peoples Bank of
Danville,
a state-chartered bank, was completed. Peoples Bank converted to
a national charter in December 1995 and became known as Peoples
National Bank.
Blue Ridge Savings & Loan opened in
Floyd in March of 1978. In November 1982,
Blue Ridge
became one of the first S&L's in the country to convert to a
commercial bank. Blue Ridge Bank was a state-chartered
institution until converting to a national charter in December
1995, becoming Blue Ridge Bank, National Association.
Also in 1982, a bank located in
Stafford County,
VA
was declared insolvent. An agreement was reached over the phone
on a Sunday night, papers were signed at 7 a.m. the next
morning, and what was then known as Patriot Bank-Offices of
Peoples Bank of Danville, opened for business two hours later.
Bank Services of Virginia, Inc. was
formed in 1984 in
Henry
County
to provide a management center for the banks. The senior
management personnel responsible for many of the banks’
functions were located there.
In 1985, South Boston Bank opened
its first office in the
Centerville
community of
Halifax County,
VA.
In 1992, the bank received recognition as a key part of the
downtown revitalization effort in
South Boston.
A new office designed to fit the surrounding architecture was
built and housed the bank’s main office. In December 1995, South
Boston Bank converted to a national banking charter and became
known as Community National Bank.
Patrick Henry National Bank made
banking history in 1995 when it filed an application for an
office in
Eden,
NC,
becoming the first bank in the country to take advantage of a
change in banking laws which allowed interstate branching.
By 1996, five banks with 35 offices
were in operation. On July 1 of that year, banking history was
again made when two of the banks became six, thus becoming the
first independent banks in the country to split themselves into
separate financial institutions. Patrick Henry National Bank
offices in Galax and Hillsville were spun off to create Mountain
National Bank, while locations in
Lexington,
Staunton,
and
Waynesboro
became offices of Shenandoah National Bank.
Peoples National Bank also split
itself into three separate financial institutions. Offices in
the
Stafford
County
and
Fredericksburg areas
were spun off to create Patriot Bank, N.A., and Central National
Bank was created with a single office in
Lynchburg.
On May 1, 1998, First National
Exchange Bank was created from the spin off of First National
Bank of Rocky
Mount offices in
Roanoke,
Bedford,
and
New Castle.
Simultaneously, the remaining offices of First National Bank of
Rocky Mount
converted to a national charter and became known as First
National Bank.
Into the new millennium, growth
continued at a rapid pace as the 10 banks grew to include over
120 offices by 2005.
North Carolina
offices of the banks numbered 36 by the end of that year.
Just as splitting
the banks made sense in order to grow quickly; bringing the
banks together at the end of 2006 was a logical result of rising
administrative and compliance burdens.
Although the banks had operated
under separate names over the years, many of the back room
functions were a cooperative effort. From an operations
standpoint, very little changed after the merger. From the
customer’s perspective, they now had the ability to conduct
their banking in a much broader area.
“The merger created a financial
institution with total assets in excess of $3.4 billion, well
positioned for success in the increasingly competitive market
for financial institutions,” said Worth Harris Carter, Jr.,
Chairman of the Board and President.
“Carter Bank & Trust achieved
substantial administrative, regulatory, and compliance cost
savings and efficiencies, enhanced customer convenience, and the
merger allows the Bank to expand products and services in the
growing Virginia and North Carolina markets that we serve,”
Carter commented.
Carter Bank & Trust also owns a
full-service Insurance agency based in
Danville,
VA.
Bankers Insurance/Carter Bank & Trust has branch locations in
Lynchburg
and
Roanoke.
In the face of unprecedented
growth, Carter Bank & Trust has and will remain true to the
operating philosophy expressed in 1973. Services offered since
the beginning include LIFETIME FREE CHECKING, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
drive-in service Monday through Saturday, daily compounding of
interest on all Certificates of Deposit and savings accounts,
the availability of Passbook Savings accounts and Christmas
Clubs, competitive loan and deposit rates and no minimum loan
amounts, and a limited number of service charges with those
which are levied being well below those of the competition.
Looking to the future, Carter Bank
& Trust will search for ways to make life easier for its
customers by providing new products such as Debit Cards, Equity
Lines, and Internet Banking, and increasing access by opening
additional offices in new markets.
