Finance | Insurance 2023: G. ROBERT ASTON JR.

When he founded TowneBank in 1999, Aston had a vision of creating a Main Street bank that would be focused exclusively on serving the people and businesses in its hometown. Today, TowneBank has over 45 locations, with assets of more than $16.7 billion as of March 31, and supports more than 200 nonprofit organizations through its TowneBank Foundation.

Aston served as board chairman and CEO from the founding of the bank until 2018, when he transitioned to executive chairman. Prior to starting TowneBank, Aston served as president and CEO of Virginia Beach-based Commerce Bank from 1985 until BB&T acquired it in 1995. He then served as president and CEO of BB&T of Virginia from 1995 to 1998.

In January, TowneBank completed its merger with Farmers Bankshares and its subsidiary, Farmers Bank. The merger added Isle of Wight and Southampton counties to TowneBank’s service area and expanded Towne Insurance Agency’s market base.

This year, TowneBank received its sixth consecutive outstanding rating from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for its Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) performance, evaluating the bank’s performance on meeting credit needs of its service areas, including low- and middle-income clients.