OUR STORY
When Progressive Bank (originally Progressive State Bank) was founded in October 1975 in Winnsboro, Louisiana, our company was primarily dedicated to serving the special banking needs of the agricultural community in the Franklin Parish area. Cummings, Jr, our Founder and first President, Progressive State Bank had grown to assets of over $42 million by the end of 1996. While this dedic
ation to the area’s farming industry still exists, Progressive Bank has become a financial services leader in the markets we serve. In 1997, our Board of Directors voted to expand beyond the Franklin Parish area and the Company, now under the guidance of Chief Executive Officer George W. Cummings, III, expanded into the Ouachita Parish market with our first location in Monroe. Three additional offices in Monroe and West Monroe soon followed; and, in 2004 we completed our Monroe Corporate Office which houses the Bank’s Retail Banking services; Wealth Management & Investments; Private Banking; Commercial Banking; Residential Lending; and Commercial Treasury Management; as well as the Bank’s Corporate Division. The Corporate Complex has expanded to include its Corporate Annex in the building that housed the Bank’s original Monroe location, as well as its Corporate Operations Center. This success also enabled us to take the next step in our geographic expansion plans to Northwest Louisiana as our first Progressive Bank office in Bossier City, Louisiana, our Airline Financial Center, opened in July 2008. In subsequent years we have opened three additional offices in the Northwest Louisiana market. As a result of these expansion efforts, Progressive Bank’s assets grew from $46 million in September 1997 to over $586 million at year-end 2019. Growth and expansion has also resulted in an increase in the number of employees in North Louisiana from 22 in 1997 to over 140 in December 2019. Although we have expanded financially and geographically, we have not forgotten our roots. Providing our customers with the very best in banking and financial products and services, in the ways that they want them delivered, combined with our ambitious service excellence standards, remains the hallmark of our Progressive Bank brand.
