First National Community Bank has
"We look forward to becoming an integral part of the fabric of Paulding County," Market President Alex Crenshaw said in a press release.
CEO Ryan Earnest acknowledged the Chatsworth, Georgia-based First National Community took some time getting to this point. "We have a very conservative approach to growth," Earnest said in an interview, but he also described the strategy as "effective" and "successful."
Not to mention replicable.
The 56-year-old Earnest, who has served as First National Community's president and CEO since July 2021, believes the expansion into Dallas can serve as a blueprint for additional growth in Northwest Georgia, and possibly Northeast Alabama or Southwest Tennessee, where the bank already operates a loan production office in Chattanooga.
"Taking a look at [opening] a branch in another contiguous market makes a lot of sense," Earnest said. "The strategy has worked and we'll employ it again, to try to enter a market with an experienced team. We'll challenge them to earn their way into a full-service branch."
First National Community has completed two deals the past five years. It acquired the $131 million-asset NorthSide Bank in Adairsville, Georgia, in August 2019, and the $201 million-asset Heritage First Bank in Rome, Georgia, in July 2021.
While ruling nothing out, dealmaking isn't high on First National Community's current priority list, Earnest said. "Our plan is to grow organically," Earnest said. "We'll continue to run the bank the way that has made us successful thus far."
First National Community grew assets to nearly $97 million in the past year. Earnest is counting on a higher profile in Paulding County to continue the momentum, which is by no means an unrealizable outcome. Paulding's population of approximately 183,000 has grown 9% since 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The county's $89,000 median household income is about 25% larger than the statewide average. For banks, that growth has translated into more deposits. Paulding's deposit base grew by $300 million between 2020 and 2023. It totaled $1.7 billion at June 30, 2023, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. statistics.
"The growth here has continued to match our expectations, in certain cases really exceed them," Earnest said. "A lot of the growth this area has experienced is due to the lack of buildable land in the Atlanta metropolitan area. … People are coming out this way. They're finding it a great place to live."
"Instead of a spiral downward it sort of spirals upward," Community Bankers Association of Georgia President and CEO John McNair said in an interview. "We continue to see businesses from other states locate to Georgia. … Those businesses drive jobs. People that work obviously need banking services. The big businesses help little businesses get started."
Georgia is also seeing banks from surrounding states, including Tennessee, the Carolinas and Florida, enter the market in much the same way First National Community expanded in Paulding County, according to McNair. "They start with a loan production office but then ultimately expand with a full retail facility," McNair said. "Banks in the Southeast are looking at Georgia saying we've got to get some of that, too."
Dallas Mayor James Kelly said his city's population has pushed past 15,000 and will likely reach 20,000 over the next five years as hundreds of planned houses are built. First National Community will be well-positioned to capture its share of new business since "it will be the only small community bank" doing business in the region, Kelly said. Paulding's only other community bank, the $2.1 billion-asst Piedmont Bancorp in Peachtree Corners, Georgia,
First National Community's Dallas location will be its 11th full-service branch. The branch count is likely to grow as the company continues to embrace a tried-and-true traditional community bank branching formula. "We feel like the customer experience can be best delivered in a well-situated, well-thought-through branch footprint," Earnest said.
Industrywide, commercial banks managed to eke out a small net gain in the overall number of branches in 2023, the first annual increase since 2014.
Long term, the trend lines are pointing downward. Indeed, over the past few weeks, several institutions announced plans to close significant numbers of branches. Last month, the $31.8 billion-asset Fulton Financial Corp. in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, announced plans to close 13 branches in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Similarly, the $18.1 billion-asset WesBanco in Wheeling, West Virginia, announced plans to
For his part, Earnest remains comfortable charting a contrarian course. "It helps with what we're trying to do in the delivery of our products and services," Earnest said of First National Community's relatively large footprint. "For now, this model works very effectively for us. We won't be changing any time soon."
