Bank of Fayetteville Celebrates 15th Year

The same year bank regulators closed more than 1,200 banks nationwide, The Bank of Fayetteville N.A. opened with no deposits and only $4 million in capital. From its June 3, 1987, launch through the end of that year, the bank opened 994 accounts — all of which Chairman and President John Lewis said The Bank of Fayetteville still has.

The savings and loan scandals of the late 1980s did nothing to impede The Bank of Fayetteville’s phenomenal growth. It made $18 million in loans during its first six months and by December of 1987 had assets of $28 million.

One year later, The Bank of Fayetteville had $47 million in deposits and had made $32 million in loans.

“We became profitable pretty suddenly,” Lewis said. “I call [the early depositors] a group of great friends. They had confidence in the bank at a time when they probably shouldn’t have.”

The Bank of Fayetteville, which celebrated its 15th anniversary in June, now boasts $220 million in assets and another $60 million under the management of its trust department. It also serves 12,000 customers through its eight branches throughout Washington County.

“We treated people the way we would want to be treated, and that’s never changed,” Lewis said. “The bank is built around personal relationships that we have with our customers.”

The bank focused early on small, locally owned businesses because Lewis said that market had been underserved. He had been a loan officer in Fayetteville since the 1960s, and he and fellow banking veteran Gary Garton both brought unique local experience to the table. Advice was provided to local entrepreneurs even more often than loans.

Focusing on the future, the bank built branches rapidly and broke even for several years. Lewis said the confidence of the bank’s initial investors helped it reach a critical mass.

“Trust is the only asset a bank really has,” Lewis said.