2019 Journal of Community Bank Case Studies

2019 COMMUNITY BANK CASE STUDY COMPETITION

in FirstBank as well as granted ownership to all employees, he still remains the largest shareholder at 44%. In an interview with Jim Ayers, Executive Chairman of the Board, he provided valued insight into FirstBank. Ayers revealed that much of FirstBank’s growth is from small towns, and that these down-home markets are his pride and joy. Ayers has a philosophy that bankers should go into the community and ask for people’s business in a personal way; this is something Ayers continues to do today. Under Ayers’ supervision, FirstBank went from being one of the smallest banks in the state to one of the largest community banks in Tennessee (“About Us”). B. Represented Markets When choosing markets to portray in this study, the management of FirstBank suggested the Tennessee markets of Paris, Memphis, and Fairview. The Paris, Tennessee, market is a rural representation of FirstBank. To thrive as a bank in this rural market, the bank’s personnel have had to develop a trusted, personal relationship with the customers. The staff of the Paris market explained that FirstBank is active within the community and being customer-focused is imperative to the success of its market. Troy Buttrey, Market President for Paris and Carroll County, Tennessee, is a rare exception to FirstBank’s market strategy. Buttrey is one of the few FirstBank market presidents who is not originally from his market. He and his family currently reside in Paris and Buttrey continues to prove his value within the community and

Under Ayers’ supervision, FirstBank went from being one of the smallest banks in the state to one of the largest community banks in Tennessee (“About Us”).

entity adopted FirstBank as the new name for both banks. In 1990, Jim Ayers acquired sole control of the bank when FirstBank consisted of $90 million in assets. As FirstBank continued to grow, it acquired several banks in the Lexington area, including Bank of West Tennessee and a branch of Nations Bank. During the early 2000s, FirstBank purchased two banks in Tennessee and seven other branches. In 2014, FirstBank increased its overall footprint by opening a branch in Huntsville, Alabama. In September 2016, Ayers took the next step to further FirstBank’s legacy by offering ownership in FirstBank to the public. Because of FirstBank’s pride in its humble start, one of the original seven employees of FirstBank, Becky Davis, accompanied Ayers to the New York Stock Exchange for the Initial Public Offering and rang the bell. Davis has been part of the FirstBank family for 46 years. Although Ayers decided to allow additional investors

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