The First National Bank of Bastrop has provided personalized and trustworthy banking to Bastrop County since 1889. The bank has gone through several changes over the years, but its core principles have remained the same, making it a trusted name in the community.

The bank’s headquarters is located at 489 Highway 71 W, Bastrop. It has six additional locations with three in Bastrop, one in Cedar Creek, one in Smithville and one in Elgin. The bank offers financial services such as personal banking, business banking, loans, investment advisors and more.

President and CEO Reid Sharp said the bank has remained in the community by prioritizing its guiding principles of empathy, service, faith, family, accessibility, honesty and integrity.

“[The founders of the bank] knew that the defining thing about banking is trust,” President and CEO Reid Sharp said. “Folks trusted them and did business with them, and we've continued that trust for over 130 years now.”

First National Bank of Bastrop is locally owned and operated. This allows employees to create a more personalized experience for their customers.

“When you go to a branch of a community bank, people get to know you,” Sharp said. “They know your family, perhaps they've known you for generations.”

As banks have adapted to changing technology, many banks have replaced tellers and loan officers. While First National Bank of Bastrop has updated some of its processes, it keeps people at the forefront.

“Community banking is about face-to-face relationships,” Sharp said.

These personal interactions are important to employees at First National Bank of Bastrop because these interactions give employees a chance to empathize with customers.

“You need to listen to [the customer] and consider that they may have much bigger problems than their debit card not working,” Sharp said. “That human contact, that ability to show empathy for folks, sincere empathy, and the ability to be there when needed goes a long way.”

This banker-employee connection does not only happen inside the bank. Sharp said bank employees are all actively involved in the Bastrop community. Employees volunteer their time on church committees, school boards, as volunteer firefighters and at other nonprofits.

“There's nearly 500 nonprofit organizations in Bastrop County and I think we've probably touched most of them at some point,” Sharp said.

In addition to volunteering in their free time, First National Bank of Bastrop gives its employees 12 hours of paid volunteer time each year.

“As human beings we look out for each other,” Sharp said. “I think we're put on this earth to serve each other and that's something we can't lose sight of.”

In 2011, a large wildfire damaged a majority of Bastrop County. Sharp said 25% of the bank’s employees were evacuated from their homes. Bank employees helped each other and their community members, offering up their homes and other resources.

“We had employees living with each other...and they weren't really even all that close,” Sharp said. “They reached out and we all got through it and I think we became better because of it. We all pulled together and we showed the resiliency of the human spirit through it.”

Sharp said he is confident that First National Bank of Bastrop will continue serving the community for another 100 years.

“We will keep evolving just like the community and we're not going to stop growing,” Sharp said.

To find out more about the First National Bank of Bastrop, visit the bank’s website.

The above story was produced by Multi-platform Journalist Mary Katherine Shapiro with Community Impact's Storytelling team with information solely provided by the local business as part of their "sponsored content" purchase through our advertising team.