First National Bank Omaha is a bank headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. The namesake and leading subsidiary of First National of Nebraska, it is the third largest privately held bank subsidiary in the United States with $17 billion in assets and 4320 employees.
Chartered and headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, the bank's services include corporate banking, investment banking, retail banking, wealth management and consumer lending in Nebraska, Iowa, Colorado, Texas, Kansas, South Dakota and Illinois, operating a total of 109 branches throughout the Midwest.
History
In 1856, a group of settlers from Kanesville, Iowa crossed the Missouri River to picnic in the newly named Nebraska Territory. One of the visitors, Thomas Davis, helped found Omaha when he donated $600 in gold dust for an official charter. He eventually served on First National Bank's board of directors. Two immigrant brothers from Ohio, Herman and Augustus Kountze, opened Kountze Brothers Bank in 1857. Omaha's first bank opened its doors and started trading primarily in gold dust and buffalo hides. Kountze Brothers Bank received national charter #209 in 1863. First National Bank is now the oldest national bank west of the Missouri River. In 1863, they also began doing business as First National Bank of Omaha and brought in additional investors, including Edward Creighton, who served as president.
In 1883, Herman Kountze speculated on land in North Omaha, eventually developing an affluent Omaha suburb called Kountze Place in the former town of Saratoga. The panic of 1893 sparked the worst depression of the 19th century. In 1895, twelve businessmen from Omaha, including Herman Kountze, started the Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben. Their stated mission was "to build a more prosperous Heartland, where communities can flourish and every child can succeed". In 1898, Herman Kountze donated the use of of his Kountze Place development for the Trans-Mississippi Exposition, one of the crowning events in Omaha's history. Featuring a lagoon filled with Venetian gondolas, it attracted 2.6 million visitors at a time when Omaha's population was roughly 100,000.
1900 to 1949
In 1913, First National Bank became one of the first banks to specifically target women with a Ladies' Department. Staffed with female tellers, it helped make banking a mainstream activity for women. During a five-year span ending in 1933, the Great Depression caused more than 750 Nebraska banks to close. On one Saturday in August, depositors began withdrawing their funds en masse from Omaha banks. When their requests were met, the banks proved their solvency; if not, the banks faced almost certain collapse. During this period, the bank extended their hours.
1950 to 1999
In 1953, under the leadership of John Lauritzen, First National Bank became the first bank in the region and the fifth in the nation to issue its own credit card. Also in 1953, First National Merchant Solutions began processing for 125 merchants. In 1971, employees started moving into the 22-story First National Center. Attached to a 420-room hotel and a 550-stall parking garage, it became one of the most modern buildings in the region, providing economic development in downtown Omaha.
2000 to present
In 2000, First National Bank designated two parcels of green space for the city of Omaha. They are the current sites of two sculpture parks called "Spirit of Nebraska's Wilderness" and "Pioneer Courage". Working in tandem, the two sculptures join to make one of the largest bronze sculptures in the world. In 2002, First National Bank completed construction on the First National Tower, the tallest building between Chicago and Denver.
It was announced on February 8, 2008, that Mills County Bank in Glenwood, Iowa and Silver City, Iowa would transition to First National Bank of Omaha, effective February 9, 2008. The full transition to First National Bank was completed on June 20, 2008. In March 2008, First National Bank opened a new branch with their new partnership with Scooter's Coffeehouse, started in Bellevue, Nebraska and have their operations based out of Omaha. This new branch is located in the Old Market in Downtown Omaha.
Beginning September 30, 2010, it was announced that First National of Nebraska consolidated its bank charters of First National Bank of Colorado, in Fort Collins, Colorado; First National Bank of Kansas, in Overland Park, Kansas; and Castle Bank, in DeKalb, Illinois, with its First National Bank of Omaha charter.