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First Bancorp
First Bancorp operates as the publicly traded parent of First National Bank, a community lender chartered in 1864 and headquartered in Damariscotta,...
First Bancorp
First Bancorp operates as the publicly traded parent of First National Bank, a community lender chartered in 1864 and headquartered in Damariscotta, Maine. CEO Tony C. McKim has led the company since 2005, steering it through the financial crisis and a series of strategic branch expansions along Maine's coast. The institution is distinctly Yankee — conservative, branch-heavy, and tied to the seasonal rhythms of a state where tourism, marine industries, and rural real estate drive local economies. Its balance sheet reflects a deliberate departure from the typical community bank. While the bank originates commercial loans to Maine businesses — including marine contractors, inns, and small manufacturers — a hallmark of its strategy is the acquisition of residential mortgage pools from secondary markets outside its footprint. First National has historically bought seasoned, fixed-rate residential loans from other financial institutions, holding them for the yield rather than originating every asset locally. This book, alongside a traditional portfolio of commercial real estate and construction lending in Maine, produces a net interest margin that has often outpaced regional peers. First Bancorp runs 18 branches stretching from Wiscasset to Calais, with a loan production office in Brunswick and a regional presence in Bangor. It employs roughly 250 people across its banking operations, a figure that has remained steady through a period of consolidation in New England's community banking landscape. A defining event arrived in October 2024, when the firm acquired a portfolio of seasoned residential mortgages from another regional institution, adding approximately $80 million in earning assets to its book in a single transaction. What makes First Bancorp structurally unusual among community banks is its dual posture toward asset generation. It neither relies solely on in-market originations nor behaves as a passive mortgage REIT. The bank cultivates relationships with coastal business owners through a network of local officers who hold seats on Chambers of Commerce and land-trust boards, while a separate treasury function actively bids on loan pools sourced through correspondent networks. This bifurcated model — half-relationship bank, half-loan-portfolio assembler — gives the institution an asset sensitivity that most banks its size cannot replicate.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
1864
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Damariscotta
Corporate office
Damariscotta, ME, United States
Principals
Tony C. McKim
President & Chief Executive Officer
Richard M. Elder
Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
How does First Bancorp differ from a typical community bank?
First Bancorp runs a bifurcated asset-generation model. One side operates as a conventional community bank, originating commercial and construction loans to Maine businesses through 18 coastal branches. The other side acquires residential mortgage pools from outside its geographic footprint on the secondary market, holding them for portfolio yield rather than fee income. This hybrid model gives the bank a net interest margin profile that has historically exceeded the median for its peer group.
Who makes the key capital-allocation decisions at the holding company?
President and CEO Tony C. McKim has led First Bancorp since 2005 and directs the institution's overall strategy, including the decision to layer secondary-market loan acquisitions onto the traditional community banking franchise. CFO Richard M. Elder manages the treasury function that executes the portfolio purchases and oversees balance-sheet positioning.
Where does First Bancorp source the residential loans it acquires?
The bank buys seasoned, fixed-rate residential mortgage pools from other financial institutions through correspondent networks, rather than originating the loans directly. These are performing loans that the selling banks choose to liquidate for liquidity or balance-sheet reasons. First National underwrites the pools with an emphasis on consistent yield over rapid turnover.
Does the bank hold its loans in portfolio or distribute them?
First National Bank holds the vast majority of its residential mortgage acquisitions and in-market originations on its own balance sheet as portfolio loans. It does not operate an active securitization program and historically has not been a large seller into the agency market, preferring to collect the interest spread over the life of the asset.
How does the bank's geographic concentration in Maine affect its credit risk?
The institution's commercial real estate and construction loan books are concentrated in Maine's mid-coast and Down East counties, an economy heavily dependent on seasonal tourism, marine trades, and second-home construction. The bank mitigates concentration risk through conservative loan-to-value ratios and by supplementing local exposure with geographically diversified residential mortgage pools purchased from outside New England.
What is First Bancorp's posture toward consolidation in the New England banking market?
First Bancorp has participated in the broader consolidation of Maine's community banking sector, acquiring branches and assets rather than selling. The October 2024 purchase of a residential mortgage pool from another regional institution fits a pattern of opportunistic asset-level acquisitions alongside occasional whole-branch pickups, though the firm has not pursued large-scale whole-bank M&A transactions.
Does First Bancorp maintain any non-bank operating entities or affiliated investment funds?
The holding company's primary operating entity is First National Bank, its wholly owned Maine-chartered subsidiary. Public filings do not indicate that First Bancorp operates separate investment funds, real-asset vehicles, or wealth management subsidiaries beyond the core banking franchise.
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