Our Story

In 1902, several prominent citizens of Marion, Alabama decided there was a need for a strong local bank. They gathered their resources, petitioned the government for a charter, and Marion Central Bank was formed. Marion Central Bank would go on to serve the Marion community faithfully for the next 31 years. Toward the end of the Great Depression, driven by thousands of bank failures, the public began to lose confidence in banks. Customers were coming in droves to withdraw deposits. Deposit runs on banks were becoming common. The newly elected president Franklin D. Roosevelt, in an effort to give Congress time to enact legislation that would stabilize the banking system, declared a national bank holiday effective March 6th, 1933, just two days after his inauguration. During this four-day holiday, the Federal Reserve Banks were to recommend to the Treasury Department which banks could re-open, and which must stay closed. Marion Central Bank, by then the community’s primary bank, was not allowed to reopen. Despite this devastating decision, the shareholders and employees of the bank remained committed to Marion and its need for a strong community bank. Many of the shareholders and employees of the former bank, along with some new investors, gathered their resources and applied for a new charter.

 

One year later, on March 17, 1934, the charter request was approved. Marion Bank and Trust Company was formed and this group’s enduring commitment to Marion continued. Marion Bank and Trust Company served its customers from the former Marion Central Bank building in downtown Marion until 1972 when, a significant investment in the community was made by building a new headquarters facility at 601 Washington Street, which is still the bank’s home in Marion today.

 

In 2008, the decision was made to expand outside of Marion for the first time. When the bank’s new branch in Selma was opened, it did not take long for the citizens of Selma and Dallas County to understand the culture of commitment to community.  As a result, the bank experienced significant growth in Selma and Dallas County. In 2016, the bank expanded into Chilton County with a branch in Maplesville. After adding additional branches in Jemison (2018) and Clanton (2020), Marion Bank is well positioned to become the primary bank in the growing Chilton County market.