There’s a Moose on the Web!

First Colebrook Bank is a New Hampshire-owned financial institution dedicated to the spirit of personalized, community banking. Welcome to our Web site! At First Colebrook Bank our roots are in “Moose Country”. Up in The Great North Woods of New Hampshire, moose sightings are an everyday occurrence. The moose is a wonder of nature… strong, independent, forthright and free spirited. It is no wonder that First Colebrook Bank coined the moose as our symbol, for we hold dear the same traits.

First, A Little History

Since the late 1800s, First Colebrook Bank has served two of Northern New Hampshire’s predominant industries, timber and tourism. As a matter of fact, the first president of the bank was a famous timber baron named George Van Dyke, owner of the Connecticut Valley Lumber Company. George Van Dyke was a tough and shrewd businessman. It is no surprise that, since those early days, the bank has continued to serve timber and tourist interests throughout Upper Coös County. Throughout our history, First Colebrook Bank has been managed by strong, conservative officers and directors.

The Changing Face of Banking

 Over a very short period of time, the banking industry has changed quite a bit, though not all of the changes have been positive for bank customers. It was not that long ago when all the banks in the state were locally owned. Now the vast majority of the bank deposits in the state are controlled by out-of-state institutions. Somehow, this just doesn’t feel right to most of us.

New Hampshire has changed from a state with a lot of small banks to a state with several huge, out-of-state holding company banks, a handful of locally owned mid-sized banks and a very few smaller locally owned, community banks. All this has left some consumers feeling somewhat in a state of confusion!

When most banks in the state were locally owned and you needed a loan, you’d go to your hometown bank. The bank held your loan in their portfolio. If you had a problem, you drove down to Main Street and talked to a person to resolve the problem. Not only did you appreciate that personalized service, but also the local bank had a safe, steady source of loan income from making home loans in the community. Unfortunately today, most of the prime residential real estate loans are sold to investors. If you have any problems, you must resolve them, not on Main Street, but by calling an 800 number and talking with someone who has probably never even been to your town.

At First Colebrook Bank, we still believe in personalized banking the way it used to be.

What First Colebrook Bank Can Do For You

Change can create problems in any business. However, change also provides opportunity to those who can adapt. The small-business borrower has faced some unwelcome changes in dealing with today’s banking industry. A decade ago, most small-business borrowers in the state knew their loan officer and they probably knew the senior officers at their bank as well. They developed a working relationship with their bank as their business grew. Often today, those valuable long-term business relationships have been lost through bank consolidations, eliminating staff that served smaller local markets. The rapid consolidation of many small banks into a few large banks has left small commercial borrowers with few banks able and willing to serve their needs. The big banks often do not retain commercial lending operations or commercial lenders in communities that once enjoyed having these services locally available. Therefore, the small-business borrower really can’t develop a working relationship with the bank.

First Colebrook’s strongest asset is that we can and do develop working relationships with all our customers. To allow us greater access to small-business borrowers across the state, we established a First Colebrook Bank branch in Concord, New Hampshire. From this location at 100 Loudon Road, we serve the Greater Concord community as well as small businesses throughout Central New Hampshire. The site, with its tall pine trees and green grassy lawn, looks like a place where a North Country bank could feel right at home. Our small-business loan office at 69 Route 101A in Amherst, New Hampshire, serves entrepreneurs in the Souhegan Valley.

At First Colebrook Bank, we’ve never walked away from the small-business borrower. As a matter of fact, for over 100 years, we’ve been successfully lending to two of the state’s most challenging industries... timber and tourism. From this strong base, we can serve a wide variety of small commercial loan customers across the State of New Hampshire in a variety of businesses.

We feel that people in New Hampshire long for the days when they knew their banker and customer service meant talking to someone at the bank face-to-face, not dialing an 800 number for somewhere out of state. Our number-one priority at First Colebrook Bank is to bring a refreshing return to personalized, customer-friendly banking in New Hampshire. Whether you are looking for a car loan, a checking account, or a vacation-home mortgage, we want to be your bank. We will continue to strive to remain an independent, New Hampshire-owned bank.

At First Colebrook Bank, we offer competitive rates and customized services to meet your financial needs. Whether you’re saving for a child’s education, looking for a snowmobile loan or a vacation-home mortgage, planning for your retirement or just want a simple, straightforward checking account, First Colebrook Bank has what you’re looking for.


First Colebrook Bank · 132 Main Street · Colebrook, NH 03576 · Phone: 603-237-5551
© 2004 First Colebrook Bank. All right reserved.