The First National Bank of Long Island is celebrating its 80th birthday, and that is no small feat for a publicly traded bank headquartered here.
So many banks in that universe have been gobbled up by out-of-state banking institutions. North Fork Bank was the biggest of the independent banks based here to be taken over.
First National, originally known as the First National Bank of Glen Head, opened its doors on Oct. 1, 1927, two years before the Great Depression.
Local residents started the bank because farmers and small businesses in the area couldn’t get the big New York City banks to come out to the community to make loans. Today, the bank even has locations in Manhattan. And it plans to remain independent.
“We are feeling good about our prospects for the future,” says president and CEO Michael N. Vittorio. “... That would include remaining independent.”
-CARRIE MASON-DRAFFEN