Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Bank of Granite history
Bank of Granite company history timeline
The merger of the Cheshire Railroad with the Fitchburg Railroad in 1890 significantly expanded the ability of local manufacturers to reach new markets in Massachusetts and beyond.
A piano company and a toy company, the latter destined to put Keene on the map in the first half of the new century, were both started in 1892.
1895: Keene Savings Bank is chartered.
The first motion pictures, presented with Edison's new 'Vitascope,' dazzled citizens as early as November 1896.
The Keene Savings Bank opened its first office on June 15, 1897, two years after incorporation, in the rear of a jewelry store on the corner of Washington Street and Central Square.
The Keene Gas and Electric Company plant opened the year the new bank was incorporated, and the first commercial electric lights were installed in 1898.
By 1900, Keene was home to eight other banks.
December 1906 Bank of Granite first opens its doors
In 1906, residents of Granite Falls, in Caldwell County, North Carolina, decided to pool their money and start their own bank.
The bank’s development from the modest venture founded in 1906 to a more than $1 billion-in-assets regional force a century later was a story with two distinct chapters, each consisting of 50-year spans that divided Bank of Granite’s first century of business.
Doctor Gardner C. Hill, who served as Keene Savings Bank's first president until his death in 1915, was a prominent physician and tireless public servant.
1917: Offices moved to Bankers Row in downtown Keene.
1920: Assets surpass the $1 million mark.
After finishing college in 1939, Forlines remained on campus, running the Duke branch of Citizens National Bank, a branch that counted Forlines as its only employee.
Despite some reservations, Forlines accepted the job offer, invested $25,000 of his savings, and began his extraordinarily long tenure as the bank’s senior executive in May 1954.
A group of Caldwell County residents purchased Bank of Granite in 1954, intent on reorganizing the bank and appointing a new leader who could locate new capital and expand its services.
EXPANSION BEGINNING IN 1960
September 1961: Hudson office opens
July 1969: Original Granite Falls office relocated to modern Main Street facility
In 1970, one year after the bank moved into a new headquarters office in Granite Falls, a fourth office opened in Hickory, establishing the bank in Catawba County, its first presence outside Caldwell County.
In 1972, the bank’s fifth office opened its doors in Whitnel.
The Bank would remain on the square until 1976, when it built new headquarters.
1976: Bank moves to new headquarters in Keene.
1979 Hickory office moves into permanent location across from Union Square Common
However, with the new leadership in 1982 of Charles W. Smith, the bank's eighth president and the first to hold the title of chief executive officer, the bank embarked on a period of significant change and extraordinary growth.
A dozen years passed until Bank of Granite added a sixth office in Newton in 1984, the same year Forlines took the bank public, completing an initial public offering (IPO) of stock priced at $12.50 per share.
October 1985: Springs Road office in Hickory opens
In 1986, with assets of more than $87.5 million and earnings a record $901,476, Smith moved to form Granite State Bankshares, Inc. (GSBI). His purpose was to convert Keene Savings Bank from a mutual savings institution to a New Hampshire chartered guaranty stock savings bank.
July 1987 Viewmont office in Hickory opens, the fourth Catawba County office
Snipes was named president of the bank in 1987, when Bank of Granite Corporation was formed as a holding company for Bank of Granite, taking over Forlines’ former title.
More significant to the bank's new pattern of growth and development was its 1988 merger with the First Peterborough Bank Corp.(FPB) of nearby Peterborough.
In 1988, the bank's name was changed from Keene Savings Bank to Granite Bank of Keene.
The bank continued to grow in 1989 with the opening of new offices in Chesterfield and Milford.
'Financial opportunities are created in periods of economic downturn,' wrote Smith in his message to stockholders in GSBI's 1991 annual report.
From that point forward, the question of succession loomed, becoming an issue that Forlines and Snipes would be forced to address for years to come. (Snipes, 58 years old in 1991, was not perceived as an ideal, long-term replacement for Forlines.)
In 1994, Forlines’ handed Snipes another of his titles, appointing him chief executive officer of the bank. (Forlines served as chief executive officer and chairman of Bank of Granite Corp.)
January 1996: Another Hickory-area office opens in Long View
“Bank of Granite Corp. to Buy Carolina State Bank,” Charlotte Observer, July 26, 1996.
Forlines, “the guy I’d love to have as my partner,” Buffett commented in an August 26, 1997, interview with the Charlotte Observer, influenced the personality and development of Bank of Granite to an extent that could not be overstated.
March 1998: Mountain View office opens in southwest Hickory
In 1999, the bank introduced GRANITe-bank, an electronic banking service that combines the convenience of Internet banking with industry-standard security protection.
In 1999, Veribanc, a nationally-recognized rating service, gave Granite Bank a Blue Ribbon Award, its highest ranking for a financial institution and the oldest national recognition awarded to banks for financial safety and soundness.
In 1999, in response to customer requests for Internet-based banking services, the bank launched GRANITe-bank, one of the first online services offered by a New Hampshire-based bank.
In October 2000, Smith announced that the bank had signed an agreement to purchase the two branch offices of Olde Port Bank in Portsmouth and Hampton, both in Rockingham County.
Most banking executives were delighted to record an ROA of 1.5 percent, but Forlines occupied a higher plateau, achieving an ROA of 2.45 percent in 2000, the 15th consecutive year Bank of Granite recorded an ROA of more than 2 percent.
The bank had $1.2 million in assets, one office, four employees, and it was heated by a potbellied stove on the first floor. “It was a right dismal-looking situation,” Forlines recalled in an April 2001 interview with Business North Carolina.
Rothacker, Rick, “Bank of Granite Will Buy First Commerce,” Charlotte Observer, December 19, 2002.
2004: Breaks Ground for new permanent Boone and Wilkesboro offices
April 2005: Matthews becomes the 21st full-service banking office
8 from Bank,” Charlotte Observer, December 23, 2005.
January 2006: John Forlines retires after 52 years with the bank, Charles Snipes named Chairman of the Board
February 2006: Boone office moves to new permanent location
Craver, Richard, “North Carolina–Based Bank Celebrates 100th Birthday,” Winston-Salem Journal, October 12, 2006.
October 2007: SouthPark office moves to new location
April 2008: Jim Preston named bank's first non-executive Chairman of the Board
"Bank of Granite Corporation ." International Directory of Company Histories. . Retrieved June 21, 2022 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/books/politics-and-business-magazines/bank-granite-corporation
Rate Bank of Granite's efforts to communicate its history to employees.
Bank of Granite jobs
Do you work at Bank of Granite?
Does Bank of Granite communicate its history to new hires?
Bank of Granite competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HomeTown Bank | 2005 | $19.4M | 97 | 1 |
| Florida Bank Group | 1985 | $35.1M | 100 | - |
| Consumers National Bank | 1965 | $29.9M | 149 | 8 |
| Lakeland Bank | 1969 | $1.3B | 717 | - |
| Savings Bank of Danbury | 1849 | $45.0M | 300 | - |
| Fulton Bank | 1882 | $793.3M | 3,500 | 303 |
| The Bank of Glen Burnie | 1949 | $14.1M | 90 | 1 |
| Pine River State Bank | - | - | - | - |
| Wayne Bank | 1870 | $1.7M | 263 | 28 |
| Putnam Bank | 1862 | $21.3M | 81 | - |
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Bank of Granite, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Bank of Granite. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Bank of Granite. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Bank of Granite. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Bank of Granite and its employees or that of Zippia.
Bank of Granite may also be known as or be related to BANK OF GRANITE CORP and Bank of Granite.