Harnett county residents, business owners and farmers now have a new option for banking as First Bank & Trust Company of Virginia fully opened its first office in Harnett County on Wednesday, Nov. 30 at 818 McKinney Parkway in Lillington.

The bank was joined by members of the community and members of the Lillington Area Chamber of Commerce for their official ribbon cutting ceremony to welcome them to the Town of Lillington. The ribbon cutting served not only to connect with the community, but also to mark the location’s first day as a full-service office when before, it had been operating only as a loan production office.

Based in Virginia, First Bank & Trust Co. began as a single office bank in Lebanon, Virginia with one million dollars in capital. Today, 43 years later, they remain a privately held financial institution with over $2.6 Billion in assets, operating 35 full service and loan offices throughout Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina. The Lillington location is the third full-service office for First Bank & Trust Company in North Carolina with a sister location in Red Oak NC, and non-branch bank office located in Mount Airy.

First Bank & Trust Co. President and CEO Mark Nelson shared celebratory remarks about the new location in a press release stating: “The expansion of our services throughout North Carolina is directly attributable to the dedication of our team members. Our teams in Lillington, Red Oak and Mount Airy have all worked hard to cultivate loyal customers by providing comprehensive financial solutions and prioritizing personal relationships.” 

Lillington local Trevor Smith serves as both senior vice president, and an agriculture and commercial lending officer who works exclusively with North Carolina lending accounts. Joining the First Bank & Trust Co. team in 2021, Smith said he was motivated to join the lending team because of the bank’s strong background in the agriculture industry.

“We’re the fourth ranked ag lending bank in the country. It is something, here in our markets, with Harnett, Johnston and Lee County and Sampson and Duplin County, our ag division is the fourth largest in the country,” said Smith. “And I felt like we have a tremendous opportunity here in these counties to grow that market. Agriculture is still the number one industry in North Carolina, and a lot of banks don’t cater to that, and the team that we have built between myself and Jay Smith, who was my first cousin, is Nelson Powell, are probably three of the largest ag lenders in the state.” 

The Lillington location’s agricultural lending team is made of members Nelson Powell, Jay Smith, Gloria Turner, and Trevor Smith who serve Harnett, Johnston, Cumberland, Lee, Duplin, Sampson, Wake and Greene Counties. Powell, Jay Smith, and Turner joined the team in May of 2022 with Powell and Jay being hired as senior vice presidents and agriculture and commercial lending officers, and Turner serving as a relationship manager that provides both portfolio management and in depth financial analysis for the team.

According to the LACC, Smith was a key player in bringing the bank to the community. 

“My main kind of goal of bringing First Bank and Trust Company of Virginia to Lillington is just the vision that the bank has of operating a true community bank that we all long for in today's banking world. I think that is something that we bring to the table that other banks don't necessarily have the appetite to do,” said Smith. “But we are a true community bank and try to operate the way the banks did many years ago, and I think that's something refreshing that we're going to be able to offer here in Lillington and Harnett County. And I see how successful it’s been in the Virginia markets, and I feel like we'll be just as successful down the road in North Carolina.”

Smith also shared that there are plans to branch out to other counties.

“We're looking to move into Clinton, North Carolina at some point in 2023 with a Loan Production Office,” shared Smith. “That office will be run by Mr. Nelson Powell. Obviously, he's part of our team, but he lives there. He works out of Lillington some days, but he lives in Clinton, so we’re going to get him an office set up there.” 

According to the LACC, First Bank & Trust Co. of Virginia prioritizes hiring local and are big promoters of agriculture and commercial industries.

Smith said the bank specializes in agriculture loans including row crop loans, and loans for commercial livestock, financing poultry and hog houses as well as commercial growing such as blueberries and one of the state’s largest agriculture products, sweet potatoes. 

“North Carolina is the number one state for sweet potato production in the country, so that is just something else that we cater to, we kind of have flexible options for these farmers due to their crop cycles and the timing of income and things like that. So, with the experience of our team, we're able to kind of cater and put a plan together for these farmers.” 

The First Bank & Trust Co. Lillington office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 am - 5:00 pm. Interested clients can also contact them at 984-229-8899.