Union Bank & Trust Company

Union Bank & Trust Company is the oldest banking establishment in Monticello (Drew County) and southeastern Arkansas. Throughout its history, the institution has been a mainstay of local banking in the region.

Union Bank & Trust Company traces its origins to Monticello’s original bank. Monticello Bank, the first banking establishment of southeastern Arkansas, opened on April 20, 1887, with $40,000 in capital stock. In 1905, the name changed to Monticello Bank and Trust Company to reflect that the institution began providing services in estate administration and probating. In 1915, Monticello Bank and Trust merged with Citizens Bank of Monticello (established in 1900) to become Union Bank & Trust Company.

Virgil Juan (V. J.) Trotter, local merchant and president of Citizens Bank, was elected president of Union Bank & Trust, and the institution relocated to a newly constructed facility on the northeast corner of the town square. Customer services included savings, checking, and certificate of deposit accounts; safe deposits; estate administration; and loans.

During the Great Depression, over half of Arkansas’s banks failed, including local competitor Drew County Bank. Union Bank & Trust never experienced bank runs nor faced insolvency. In March 1933, the establishment closed to comply with the national bank holiday but promptly resumed operations. The institution’s survival during that financial crisis has been attributed to longstanding conservative lending practices. In October 1933, the bank became a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). During this period, Union Bank also began operating teller windows in Dermott (Chicot County) and Tillar (Drew and Desha counties).

During World War II and the postwar era, Union Bank & Trust shared in the nation’s economic boom. In addition to enjoying substantial growth in assets and deposits, the bank expanded its services and operations. In 1965, Union Bank & Trust bought the Wilmar Exchange and reopened it as a branch location for the Wilmar (Drew County) community. New initiatives included drive-thru service, credit cards, and community outreach. By the 1960s, the bank’s leadership had abandoned its traditionally cautious approach for more dynamic lending and marketing practices.

The mid-to-late 1970s were defined by facility renovation and construction. The main branch’s remodeling resulted in a renovated building more than twice its original size. The Wilmar branch relocated to a new facility around this same time. When the city of Monticello began expanding westward, Union Bank & Trust constructed the University Branch (location closest to the University of Arkansas at Monticello). When this location opened in 1980, its automatic teller machine (ATM) provided customers with twenty-four-hour banking service.

Deregulation of the banking industry during the 1980s both disrupted and diversified Union Bank & Trust’s operations and services. With small loans no longer profitable, the institution discontinued offering them to customers. In 1982, Union Bank & Trust established the First Union Financial Corporation to diversify its investments in real estate and insurance.

By 2024, Union Bank & Trust operated four brick-and-mortar locations—three in Monticello and one in Warren (Bradley County)—and six ATM locations in Drew and Bradley counties. In addition to traditional services such as checking and savings accounts, Union Bank & Trust offers consumer, business, and mortgage loans; retirement plans; consumer and business credit cards; trust services; and internet and mobile banking.

For additional information:
Holley, Donald. “A Century of Change: Union Bank & Trust Company: Part 1, 1887–1930.” Drew County Historical Journal 5 (1990): 28–43.

———. “A Century of Change: Union Bank & Trust Company: Part 2, 1930–1989.” Drew County Historical Journal 6 (1991): 40–46.

Union Bank & Trust Company. https://www.unionbnk.com/ (accessed July 10, 2024).

A. Blake Denton
University of Southern Mississippi