News

Ask Matt ... about banks changing hands

By Matt Matteson, Published: February 19, 2018

Q. I read where Asheville Savings Bank has merged with First Bank. Which local bank has kept their name the longest?

As far as I could figure, only one bank has kept the same name for more than 25 years — First Citizens Bank but it didn’t start that way. It was First Federal until 1991. For the record, State Employees Credit Union is the oldest credit union in town. BB&T, a relatively new arrival to the county, is one of the oldest banks in the state. Chartered in 1913 in Wilson, BB&T, formerly Branch Banking and Trust, got its name from co-founder Alpheus Branch.
Here are some that had recent name changes. Wells Fargo was Wachovia Bank. Bank of America was NationsBank and before that NCNB. Entegra Bank was Macon Bank. SunTrust Bank was First Union Bank and before that Northwestern Bank. HomeTrust Bank was Clyde Savings and Loan. Finally, TD Bank (Toronto-Dominion) was Carolina First Bank, and before that MountainBank. I found five “newcomer” banks that have not changed names: Carolina Alliance Bank, PNC Bank, RBC Bank (Royal Bank of Canada), United Community Bank and Woodforest Bank. Nashville-based Pinnacle bank merged with Bank of North Carolina last June and they closed the branch here. They have a branch in Asheville but no plans to open another Henderson County bank.
Asheville Savings Bank has been serving WNC customers for 82 years but that will all change on Monday, March 19, when the old signs come down and bold red and white First Bank signs are unveiled in front of 13 former Asheville Savings banks. Headquartered in Southern Pines, First Bank has been around since 1935 and counts 104 locations statewide. The time and temperature on Sixth and Main will now be courtesy of First Bank.

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This footnote may be of interest to moviegoers. The Oscar-nominated movie “The Post” is based on the 1971 publication of the Pentagon Papers — a report that exposed the private views within five administrations that the war in Vietnam was unwinnable. One key player who escaped being mentioned in the movie was Assistant Secretary of Defense John T. McNaughton, who worked for Robert McNamara (played by Bruce Greenwood in the film). Daniel Ellsberg, the military analyst who photo-copied the top-secret documents in 1969, once worked for McNaughton. Lightning readers may recall that McNaughton died in the mid-air collision of Piedmont Flight 22 over Hendersonville in July of 1967, just a month after he was assigned to collect and review the Pentagon Papers. Because of his close friendship with McNamara, many perceived McNaughton to be a war hawk but some have since written that he began to be opposed the war in Vietnam. Because he had considerable influence with Pentagon decision-makers, some historians have wondered if McNaughton’s tragic and untimely death prolonged the war.