First NBC Bank expands into Terrebonne Parish

A Louisiana bank has made its way to the Bayou Region with hopes of establishing new partnerships in the area.

First NBC Bank, a firm originating in New Orleans in 2006, has opened a branch on St. Charles Street in Houma. The location is the bank’s 38th branch and its first in Terrebonne or Lafourche Parish.

The Houma branch had a soft opening in January before having its grand opening last month. The grand opening featured Terrebonne Parish officials and First NBC executives, including president and CEO Ashton Ryan Jr. According to Ryan, the plan to head into South Louisiana has been years in the making.

“We’ve thought about two years ago it made sense to expand beyond the old First NBC footprint and get into South Louisiana below New Orleans. It’s been a very vibrant market, and we like it,” Ryan said.

Ryan said First NBC already had a solid customer base in the Bayou Region. However, those customers would have to travel to the Greater New Orleans region to do any in-person banking. To alleviate those issues, First NBC has opened its St. Charles location.

“[Houma] was still a market that we banked a lot, that would come to New Orleans for their lending and some of their deposit needs, although obviously they kept local bank relationships,” Ryan said.

The bank does plan on increasing its market share as it develops a foothold in the region. However, Ryan said he does not want First NBC to supplant local community banks. He expects First NBC customers to keep accounts with those banks, while First NBC can provide larger lending capabilities to growing businesses. Ryan said some local banks do not have the proper lending capabilities for larger companies’ needs, and many big banks are not aggressively lending at the moment. For those companies caught in between, First NBC presents an avenue for capital.

“We have some very strong players in the market. Larger companies, when they grow, their bank has to grow with them. And that’s hard sometimes for a community bank, to be able to grow sometimes with their large customers,” Ryan said.

“So we have relationships where we share relationships with larger customers in the market because they need the extra capacity that a smaller bank can’t provide them in terms of lending.”

First NBC enters the region as the local economy struggles with low oil prices. Ryan said the current malaise is a challenge for his bank and the region, but he remains optimistic the market will rebound as oil prices do. Though he does not have any concrete plans on additional branches in the Bayou Region, Ryan said First NBC would like to expand in the area as needs dictate.

“Obviously [the region]’s having its issues right now, but at the same time, we’re long-term thinkers. We really see it as a great market with a history of having good relationships down there,” Ryan said.

First NBC Bank, a firm originating in New Orleans in 2006, has set up shop in Terrebonne Parish. The branch is located on St. Charles Street and is First NBC’s 38th branch.

FILE