HomeTown Bank of Roanoke, Va., plans to open a branch in Christiansburg, Va., teaming up with the former dissident shareholders of FNB Corp.
The initial plan is to open a loan production office under the name NewRiver Bank, William Clark, HomeTown Bank's president and chief executive, said Tuesday. But the group will apply with the Bureau of Financial Institutions of Virginia to turn the office into a branch.
HomeTown's partners in its expansion into Christiansburg include former FNB shareholders who had opposed that company's merger with Virginia Financial Group of Culpeper, which closed last month. The combined company, StellarOne Corp., is based in Charlottesville, Va., and has $3 billion of assets.
HomeTown has hired Tommy Loflin as its Christiansburg market president. Mr. Loflin, who had been with FNB, resigned on Monday from StellarOne as a loan officer in its commercial department.
The $155 million-asset HomeTown Bank was founded in November 2005. Mr. Clark said unrest created by the FNB-Virginia Financial merger opened the door for his bank's entry into the New River Valley area, which includes Christiansburg. "New River has been an interest of ours all along," he said. "It's a growing area and this opportunity presented itself and we decided to take advantage of it."
