Our History

It's quite an accomplishment in this day and age for a business to have been around for more than 100 years.

First Citizens Bank, first known as the Bank of Smithfield, opened on March 1, 1898, and there were some people who doubted that the first bank in Johnston County, N.C., would survive. However, thanks to a growing agricultural economy and strong leadership that took the bank into new markets, First Citizens Bank endured and prospered.

First Citizens Bank's former home office in the Eastern North Carolina town of Smithfield

First Citizens Bank long ago diversified beyond agricultural lending, yet we're a lot like the bank we've always been. We continue to focus on individuals and small to medium-sized businesses. We still have a commitment to new products, services and technology, and we still maintain the set of core values that we've had since the beginning.

And we continue to expand into new markets. Since those early years, First Citizens Bank has grown to serve customers in more than 200 cities and towns in North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee and Maryland. Our sister subsidiary, IronStone Bank, reaches into Georgia and Florida and into Texas, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, California, Oregon and Washington.

Yet even with this expansion, we still maintain a tradition of sound financial principles that began in Eastern North Carolina.

When our founders opened our first branch in 1898, they couldn't have imagined the shape the bank would take a century later. But they would be proud that we've remained true to our roots and retained a long-term, personal approach to banking that puts our customers first.