Florida Banking March 2023

Staying True to its Southern Banking Roots T h e First Bank

T he First Bank has embraced growth and expansion in the Southeast while staying true to its roots as a community bank founded in “Hub City” Hattiesburg, Miss. The bank had two groups of initial investors who came together to create The First as we know it today. In 1996, a group of local investors in Hattiesburg started The First National Bank of South Mississippi. A couple of years later, investors in neighboring Laurel raised the capital to start The First National Bank of the Pine Belt,

Cole, too, understands what it’s like to be on the other side of the table as a client and business owner, thanks to his time as CFO of a large, privately-held organization called The Headrick Companies in the years prior to joining The First. Cole is grateful for the experience of learning how to run a business, and particularly for the mentorship of company owner Richard Headrick who taught him how to manage a team. “If you’re going to be a banker, it’s great experience to have sat on the other side of the table and see

eventually combining with the Hattiesburg bank to create a two bank holding company owned by The First Bancshares, Inc. President and CEO M. Ray “Hoppy” Cole, Jr., joined the bank as one of the original investors in Laurel, and sat on the boards of both the bank and the holding company. He began working for the bank in 2003 as a branch manager, moving up through the company until he was named CEO in 2009.

what our clients are going through. You will have a better appreciation for who you’re banking and how their business works,” Cole said. In his role as MBA Chair, Cole’s goal is to speak out about the important role that community banks play. “We have a unique platform, and we don’t want to lose sight of it. Maybe at no other time in the country’s history has the community bank business model been more important than during the pandemic and the implementation of the paycheck protection

“IF YOU’RE GOING TO BE A BANKER, IT’S GREAT EXPERIENCE TO HAVE SAT ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TABLE AND SEE WHAT OUR CLIENTS ARE GOING THROUGH."

- HOPPY COLE

“Starting out as a branch manager helped me build a rapport with our bankers and better understand our culture. I gained important institutional knowledge,” Cole said. The relationship banking model is important to Cole’s leadership approach, having seen it exemplified by his mother, Ellen Cole, growing up. She will celebrate a career of 65 years in banking this year. According to Cole, his mother has “retired” on at least four separate occasions, but continues to return to the career that has shaped her. Today, she serves as The First’s Community Development Officer for the Mississippi Gulf Coast. As Chair of the Mississippi Bankers Association for the 2022-23 term, Cole will have the honor of presenting his mother with a certificate in recognition of her dedicated service to the community at the association’s annual convention in May. “She embodies community banking,” Cole said. “Anywhere we go, she’s approached by people who want to thank her for how she’s helped them.”

program,” Cole said. “The success of PPP showed us why we need a well-diversified, healthy community bank system. Community banks are essentially a collection of small businesses; they have the ability to respond to needs locally.” As the bank expands across the southeast, local decision making continues to play a role in its strategy. “If you look at the map, all the dots connect across the southeast, and that’s by design. We have been disciplined about being geographically contiguous. We’ve targeted markets with great demographics and strong population and income growth rates. For the sake of efficiency, we pair that strategy with local management teams who understand the market and grow it organically,” Cole said. “We drew a box on the map and said, ‘we love Mississippi, and we serve some of the best markets in Mississippi, but we’re going to look for opportunities to grow.’” The First Bank, Continued on page 10

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