History
FirstState Bank was founded in 1971 as a result of the efforts of many local people who saw a need – a need for a financial institution that could relate to the plans, goals and dreams they had for themselves as well as those of their families and friends. By combining their efforts and investing their money, these farsighted citizens were able to obtain a charter and establish the bank. In the decades which have followed, FirstState has grown steadily and is now one of the largest independent financial institutions in the area. Despite this growth and the turbulent changes in the banking industry, it has succeeded in its mission to be the bank for all people in the area.
The growth of FirstState Bank has been evident as it has expanded over the years. In 1986 the bank purchased its Operations Center, located adjacent to its old Lineville office. This move allowed FirstState to improve its customer service by performing in-house many functions that had formerly been outsourced to other companies. In response to numerous requests from the Ashland community, the thriving Ashland office was opened in 1987. In 1996, remodeling was completed on Lineville’s historic Farmer’s Hardware building, and it was reopened as the FirstState Bank Conference Center. Six years later, in the spring of 2002, the FirstState Bank Mortgage Center was established to better serve the needs of customers seeking residential lending services. And in 2003, the bank demonstrated its commitment to the people of Randolph County by opening the Lake Wedowee office.
In 2006 the bank was approached by the City of Lineville with an offer to trade the City’s property on Highway 9 for a portion of the bank’s property on Highway 49. Almost two years later, in 2008, FirstState Bank held the grand opening ceremonies for its new Main Office building in Lineville.
Technological advances incorporated by FirstState Bank over the years include telephone banking, Internet banking, mobile banking and the installation of ATMs at all of the bank's branches. And the bank's "real-time" capabilities allow most customer transactions to appear as memos on their accounts in short order. However, while FirstState Bank continues to strive to implement appropriate technologies to better serve its customers, its primary focus is and always will be good old-fashioned customer service.
FirstState Bank remains committed to the original vision and dreams of those founding community members whose bright hope for the future conceived this organization. The bank's success has come because its employees strive to never forget why FirstState is here – to make dreams come true for people just like you!
