An Abilene beginning, not a shared national franchise
First Financial Bank’s own history begins with Farmers and Merchants National Bank opening in Abilene in 1890. The institution later adopted the First National Bank of Abilene name in 1957 and became First Financial Bank in 2005. Today it is the Abilene, Texas bank identified by FDIC certificate 3066, not an affiliated office of similarly named banks elsewhere. [1][3]
The FDIC establishment field gives January 1, 1889, while the company dates the start of banking operations to 1890. The sources do not explain the one-year difference, so the operational origin is attributed to the company rather than silently replacing the regulatory record. First Financial Bankshares, Inc., the public parent, also has its own legal history: its 2025 filing traces incorporation to F & M Operating Company in 1956. [1][3][4]
A statewide group forms around local markets
The bank’s history describes a 1973 multibank holding-company milestone under the First Abilene Bankshares name and adopting the First Financial Bankshares name in 1993. Those holding-company milestones should not be confused with the original bank opening or the bank’s 2005 name change. The group continued expanding through acquisitions and new offices while concentrating on Texas. [3][4]
Acquisitions brought First State Bank in Huntsville in 2010, Orange Savings Bank in 2013 and First Bank of Conroe in 2015. The 2018 purchase of Commercial Bankshares and its Commercial State Bank subsidiary strengthened the Houston-area presence. In 2020, The Bank & Trust added the Bryan and College Station market. These are historical acquired institutions, not additional current banks within this profile. [3]
One charter, with regional decision-making
The company consolidated its bank charters into one in 2012. Its 2025 annual report nevertheless describes local advisory boards, regional presidents and local decision-making, with back-office work such as accounting, technology, compliance and credit administration consolidated across the business. This is the mechanism behind its claim to combine a larger organization with local banking relationships. [4]
At December 31, 2025, the parent reported 79 financial centers across Texas, plus mortgage and trust offices. The network covered small towns as well as larger and faster-growing markets. That dated financial-center count should not be confused with every trust office, mortgage office or the number of separately chartered banks. [4]
Banking is accompanied by trust and technology businesses
The group’s loan categories include business lending, municipal credit, agricultural lending, several kinds of real estate and consumer loans. Mortgage origination and sales also generate fees. The annual filing separates the insured bank from First Financial Trust & Asset Management Company and from the group’s technology company, First Technology Services, Inc., which is owned by the bank. [4]
The company’s history page says the trust business changed its name to First Financial Wealth Management in 2026 to reflect services including investment and retirement planning, real-property and mineral management, and estate administration. That is a later name change within the wealth business, not a new name for the insured bank. The available page does not give an exact effective day. [3]
A teller-to-chief-executive succession
On January 28, 2026, First Financial announced David Bailey’s promotion to chief executive of both the holding company and the bank. Bailey had started as a teller and later led the Eastland division before overseeing commercial banking and broader lending and treasury-management functions. F. Scott Dueser, the former chief executive, remained executive chairman. [5]
The announcement said Dueser had agreed to serve as executive chairman through the 2028 annual meeting as part of the succession arrangement. That is the stated transition plan, not a claim that the later retirement has already occurred. Bailey’s appointment therefore represents a change in executive responsibility within a continuing institution. [5]
The insured bank at midyear
At June 30, 2026, the FDIC reported $15.234 billion of assets, $13.300 billion of deposits, $8.258 billion of net loans and leases, and $1.793 billion of equity for the insured bank. Net income was $135.210 million for the first six months of 2026. These bank-only figures are converted from thousands of dollars; income is year to date, not standalone second-quarter profit. [2]
Securities totaled $5.629 billion, about 36.9% of assets. Real-estate-secured loans were $5.857 billion across the FDIC’s broad property-loan category. These balances describe the bank, not client assets administered by the separate wealth business, and do not include a valuation of the parent’s publicly traded shares. [2][4]
Sources
- FDIC institution directory, October 2, 2026 index; reviewed October 5Official sourceBack to text: ↑1↑2
- FDIC June 30, 2026 bank financials; dollar fields in thousands; income year to dateOfficial sourceBack to text: ↑1↑2
- First Financial Bank institutional history, including 2026 wealth-business rename; undated, reviewed October 5, 2026SourceBack to text: ↑1↑2↑3↑4↑5
- First Financial Bankshares 2025 Form 10-K, February 25, 2026Filing / reportBack to text: ↑1↑2↑3↑4↑5↑6
- First Financial Bank and Bankshares chief-executive succession announcement, January 28, 2026SourceBack to text: ↑1↑2