First Bank receives approval to acquire six branches from Bank of America

Strasburg-based First Bank is one step closer to acquiring six bank branches in Virginia from Bank of America.

First Bank received approval to acquire the branches from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and the Bureau of Financial Institutions, a regulatory division of the Virginia State Corporation Commission. The acquisition, first announced in November, is expected to go through April 17.

First Bank plans to obtain retail branches in Woodstock, Staunton, Waynesboro, Elkton, Farmville and Dillwyn. First Bank expects to be the largest bank headquartered in the Shenandoah Valley after the transaction closes with 16 branches and more than $750 million in total assets.

“We are very pleased to receive this approval and excited about expanding deeper into the Shenandoah Valley and central Virginia,” Scott C. Harvard, president and CEO of First National Corp., the bank’s parent company, said in a statement. “This strategic acquisition of an excellent deposit franchise expands our banking presence in Virginia, includes an experienced and talented team of associates, provides core funding for the future, and complements our existing loan production offices in Staunton and Harrisonburg.”

First Bank, which opened in 1907, currently offers loan, deposit, and wealth management products and services.