First Bancorp (NASDAQ: FBNC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Southern Pines, North Carolina. It operates as First Bank in North and South Carolina. The company has 94 branches in North Carolina, assets totaling $4.3 billion and deposits of $3.4 billion as of early 2017. Assuming completion of a pending deal, First Bancorp will have 108 branches and $5.2 billion in assets.

First Bank is the sixth largest bank in North Carolina. It has 82 branches across North Carolina including branches in Asheville, Charlotte, Winston-Salem, and Wilmington. First Bank also operates nine branches in the South Carolina communities of Cheraw, Dillon, Florence, Latta, Jefferson, and Little River.

First Bancorp has two additional subsidiaries: Montgomery Data Services, Inc. and First Bank Insurance Services, Inc., which in February 2010 bought The Insurance Center, Inc.

Bank of Montgomery began in Troy, North Carolina in 1935 and changed its name to First Bank in February 1985.

On December 16, 1999, First Bancorp agreed to buy First Savings Bancorp Inc., parent of First Savings Bank of Moore County, with six branches and $325 million in assets, for $78.4 million in stock.

On October 23, 2000, First Bancorp announced its purchase of Century Bancorp of Thomasville and its subsidiary Home Savings, founded in 1915. At the time, First Bank had 43 branches in 15 counties. In the Thomasville area First Bank already had branches in High Point and Archdale.

On October 1, 2008, First Bancorp announced the completion of its merger with Great Pee Dee Bancorp, Inc., the holding company of Sentry Bank and Trust, headquartered in Cheraw, South Carolina, with branches in Cheraw and Florence, $221 million in assets, and $155 million in deposits.

On June 19, 2009, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation closed Cooperative Bank of Wilmington, chartered in 1898 and the second bank in North Carolina to fail in 2009; First Bank took over its 24 branches and $774 million in deposits as of June 22.

In 2013, First Bancorp moved its corporate headquarters from Troy, North Carolina to Southern Pines, North Carolina.

On March 4, 2016, First Bancorp and First Community Bank announced a deal in which First Community would sell all three of its branches in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and one each in Huntersville, North Carolina and Mooresville, North Carolina to First Bancorp. Deposits at these branches totalled $130 million. First Bank would sell seven Virginia branches to First Community. With deposits totalling $150 million, these were located in Abingdon, Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Fort Chiswell, Radford, Salem and Wytheville.

On March 4, 2017, First Bancorp completed a $93 million deal with Carolina Bank Holdings Inc. of Greensboro, North Carolina which would add $706 million in assets, $601 million in deposits, eight branches and three mortgage offices.

A $175 million cash and stock deal with ASB Bancorp Inc. of Asheville, North Carolina expected to be completed in fourth quarter 2017 would give First Bancorp an additional $803 million in assets and 13 Asheville Savings Bank branches in Buncombe, Madison, McDowell, Henderson and Transylvania Counties in Western North Carolina.