First United Bank & Trust at White Oaks is holding a grand opening and ribbon cutting today. The full-service banking institution, which has branches in West Virginia and in Maryland, has been open in the Percheron Building since mid-November.

 

Marketing President Kim Moyers said you can thank Mother Nature for the delay in celebrating its opening.

 

“Opening Nov. 15 put us right in the thrust of the holiday season, so we wanted an opportunity to get settled and not interrupt any holiday festivities,” she said. “Our plan was to do it in the first quarter, but we wanted to make sure weather wasn’t a deterrent. Unfortunately, winter decided to hang on a lot longer. We decided to wait until everything was conducive to people getting out and about.”

 

The White Oaks location is United Bank & Trust’s first one in Harrison County. However, the bank has serviced the Harrison County area – particularly Bridgeport – for a number of years, through its Morgantown location.

 

“So, it was a natural gravitation and expansion plan for us,” Moyers said. “The business community and consumers here in this area have been nothing but welcoming and accommodating, excited to see some new perspective and faces in town. Everyone has been very receptive to us officially putting roots in the ground, so to speak.”

 

Headquartered in Garrett County, Md., First United Bank & Trust is just shy of $1.4 billion in asset size. Branches are in four West Virginia counties and four Maryland counties.

 

“If you follow the infrastructure of the major highways, bringing you down I-79 and officially following I-68 toward DC, north central West Virginia is our westernmost bookend and Frederick, Md. is our eastern end,” she said. “We have offices up and down I-81 in Martinsburg and into Hagerstown.”

 

Refreshments were served during the open house and individuals stopping in received giveaways. The event also included grand prize drawing for a tablet computer today, Moyers said.

 

Lobby hours are 9 a.m. through 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, with the exception of a daily closure from 1:15-2 p.m. As the branch is located inside the Percheron Building, there is no drive-through service. The banking institution owns its own in-house trust investments and offers mortgage, commercial and retail banking needs.