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March 19, 2016
A regional bank is making its way down south with the opening of a branch in Houma.
First NBC Bank is a banking firm that originated in New Orleans in 2006 and has spread across southern Louisiana. It opened its 38th branch on St. Charles Street in Houma, its first in Terrebonne or Lafourche parishes.
First NBC President and CEO Ashton Ryan Jr. said that his company is looking forward to expanding its operation to the coastal area.
“We 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.
The First NBC president said the company’s expansion is the result of its budding customer base in coastal Louisiana.
According to Ryan, First NBC already has some local customers. However, any in-person banking they wanted to do required a trip to the Greater New Orleans Region. First NBC’s St. Charles location will provide convenience for those living south of 1-10.
“[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,”
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Ryan said.
First NBC has its eyes on getting a larger share of the Houma market. However, Ryan said he does not see his own business supplanting local community banks; he expects many customers in the area to maintain accounts with those institutions. According to Ryan, First NBC will supplement the larger companies in the area by providing greater lending capacity.
“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.”
The move into the Houma-Thibodaux market comes as the local economy is dragged down by low oil prices. Ryan acknowledged the challenges the region is currently facing, but he remains optimistic for his company’s prospects when rebounding oil prices lift up the local economy with it.
“Obviously it’s having its issues right now, but at the same time, we’re long-term thinkers,” Ryan said. “We really see it as a great market with a history of having good relationships down there.”
The First NBC Bank on St. Charles St. is the company’s first location in Terrebonne or Lafourche Parish. First NBC President Ashton Ryan Jr. said the expansion would provide convenience for its south Louisiana customers.
