First Bank Coming To Farmville And Dillwyn

Published 11:26 am Tuesday, March 3, 2015

FARMVILLE — Two local Bank of America branches are among the six being acquired by First Bank of Strasburg.

First Bank has been given approval to acquire Bank of America branches in Farmville, Dillwyn, Elkton, Waynesboro, Woodstock and Staunton.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and the Bureau of Financial Institutions—one of the Virginia State Corporation Commission’s regulatory arms—gave First Bank the nod to proceed.

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“We are very pleased to receive this approval and excited about expanding deeper into the Shenandoah Valley and central Virginia,” Scott C. Harvard, president and CEO of First National Corp., said in a statement. “This strategic acquisition of an excellent deposit franchise expands our banking presence in Virginia, includes an experienced and talented team of associates, provides core funding for the future, and complements our existing loan production offices in Staunton and Harrisonburg.

According to First Bank’s website, its history stretches back more than 100 years when the bank first opened under the name Peoples National Bank of Strasburg in 1907, before changing its name to the First National Bank of Strasburg.

For the next 66 years, the website states, the bank kept that name, before converting from a national bank to a state bank in 1994 and adopting the name First Bank.

Today, First Bank continues to operate as an independent community bank in the Northern Shenandoah as a fully owned subsidiary of First National Corporation, both of which are headquartered in Strasburg.