Amarillo National Bank

The Amarillo National Bank Plaza One building in downtown Amarillo.

Amarillo National Bank (ANB) is the largest, 100 percent family-owned bank in the United States,^[1] providing commercial banking and personal banking in Amarillo, Texas, and the Texas Panhandle. ANB operates 19 branch locations in and around the cities of Amarillo, Borger and Lubbock, as well as 94 local, branded automatic teller machines (ATMs).^[2] As of the end of the second quarter of 2014, it claimed to have more than $3.8 billion in assets.^[3] ANB employed 550 people as of October 2013.^[4]

The bank is headquartered in two high-rise buildings in downtown Amarillo, the 16-story Amarillo National Bank Plaza One and the 12-story Amarillo National Bank Plaza Two.

ANB is known for opening Texas’ first drive-up bank window (1950) and the first automatic teller machine in Texas (1978),^[5] which was located in the bank’s downtown lobby. Also in 1978, the bank began construction on what was then the largest drive-up banking facility in the United States, at 10th Avenue and Taylor Street in Amarillo.^[6]

As of the first quarter of 2014, Amarillo National Bank ranked as the 16th largest farm lender in the nation, with 25 percent of its loans concentrated on agriculture.^[7] It is the largest mortgage lender in the Texas Panhandle and the largest independent cattle lender in Texas.^[8]

During the Christmas season, ANB allows each of its employees to designate a $100 check to any charity of the employee’s choice. The bank claims to have given $1.5 million to more than 216 local charities in 2013.^[9] In addition, the bank invests heavily in the financial education of Texas residents with its ANB Smart program, and participates in the national Teach Children to Save campaign and the Get Smart About Credit program from the American Bankers Association.^[10]

In 2010, Amarillo National Bank opened a real estate title firm called Circle A Title.^[11] The bank opened its first Lubbock branch, called American National Bank, in December 2012.^[12]

Amarillo National Bank owns the naming rights to Amarillo National Bank Sox Stadium.

History

The bank was formed in 1892 as First National Bank of Amarillo, located at 4th Avenue and Polk Street. Local cattleman Benjamin Taliaferro (B.T.) Ware, one of the earliest settlers in the area, became vice president of First National Bank in 1895 until moving to Fort Worth, Texas in 1899. Ware returned in 1900 and bought the bank. He operated it until 1906, when he sold his stock and organized the Western Bank and Trust Company. In 1909, Ware repurchased the Amarillo bank and merged it with Western Bank and Trust, forming Amarillo National Bank. Members of the Ware family have owned and operated the bank ever since.^[13]

Owners

The current owners of Amarillo National Bank represent the fourth and fifth generations of the Ware family. Richard Ware II has been president since 1982. His sons Pat and William Ware were elected to director positions on Amarillo National Bank’s board in 2008.^[14]

See also

• List of tallest buildings in Amarillo

References

External links

• Amarillo National Bank
• Circle A Title
• Student Spending Accounts
• American National Bank
• ANB Smart Program
• Get Smart About Credit Program
• Teach Children to Save Campaign