ROCKY MOUNT: AN ENDURING N.C. BANKING TRADITION: Since acquiring RBC Bank (USA) ten years ago, PNC has stewarded Rocky Mount's established banking tradition, while facilitating continued growth and impact for local customers and the community.

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This is the twenty-first in a series of informative monthly articles for North Carolina businesses from PNC in collaboration with BUSINESS NORTH CAROLINA magazine.

When Jeff Taylor, a fourth-generation Rocky Mount resident and local PNC Bank leader, reflects on his childhood, regular visits to the former Sears department store on Church Street rank among his most cherished memories. For the past 28 years, Taylor has frequented that same block of Church Street--not far from the site where his favorite retail display of riding lawnmowers once stood--in his capacity as a senior operations manager for PNC Bank and previous roles with predecessor financial institutions.

Taylor is one of approximately 500 PNC employees who call the Twin Counties home and contribute to the region's significant banking tradition that began more than 120 years ago. Since its rise to prominence as a regional center for agriculture and textiles, Rocky Mount has benefited from a robust banking sector, which has helped fuel local innovation and the city's present-day reputation as a transportation hub and leader in manufacturing and logistics.

Thanks to a longstanding cultivation of local banking talent and infrastructure, together with the expanded reach and capabilities afforded by an increasingly virtual and tech-enabled world, the contributions and impact of PNC's Rocky Mount employees--many of whom support operations for the entire enterprise--extend beyond the scale and scope of the Twin Counties. "I will always call Rocky Mount home, and I'm fortunate to lead a team that contributes to making this community a great place to live and work, while also making an impact for PNC customers throughout the country," says Taylor.

TIMELINE: A LOCAL BANKING LEGACY

Rocky Mount's rich banking legacy dates back to 1899, when Planters National Bank was established to serve the needs of local farmers, manufacturers and merchants of tobacco and cotton products.

In 1931--on April Fool's Day, no less--Peoples Bank & Trust opened its doors. Despite the uncertainty and instability that characterized the economic climate of that era, more than 100 people opened accounts during that first day of business, with an average deposit of more than $550--an amount equivalent to more than $10,000 in today's dollars. The stability of these deposits gave the community something to believe in, a reason for confidence and optimism.

During World War II, the Rocky Mount community rallied to support...