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City National Bank & Trust (CNB) is an American financial institution headquartered in Lawton, Oklahoma. It is a small, family-owned consumer bank. https://www.cnb1901.com Overview City National Bank & Trust (CNB) is an American financial institution headquartered in Lawton, Oklahoma. It is a small, family-owned consumer bank.

Overview

City National Bank is the oldest bank in Southwest Oklahoma. It is a national bank, regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency of the United States Department of the Treasury. As a small bank, it has total assets of approximately $300 million. City National Bank & Trust should not be confused with City National Bank (California) or City National Bank of Florida.

History

City National Bank & Trust opened in 1901, six years before Oklahoma gained statehood. It is one of the oldest banks in Southwest Oklahoma. Its original mission was to provide banking services to the troops at Fort Sill, a cavalry post in Oklahoma Territory. The bank also provided services the community growing around the post. The original bank was little more than a covered wagon. The bank wouldn't erect its first permanent structure wouldn’t be until 1903. Frank M. English became president of the bank in 1904 and served in that capacity for 27 years. By 1909, the bank began construction on a three-story building to meet its growing needs.

J.R. “Dolph” Montgomery succeeded Frank English in 1931. At the time, Montgomery was the youngest president of a national bank in the United States.

In 1934, City National Bank created the first installment loan department in Lawton. Bob McCoy was its first installment loan officer. In the late 1930s, McCoy began making loans to soldiers at Fort Sill. At the time, McCoy was the only loan officer in Lawton willing to loan money to soldiers. By 1943, the bank had $5,000 in small loans to soldiers. When the soldiers were called up for war duty, it looked like the bank would lose it all. McCoy thought the soldiers would go to Japan, but the U.S. feared Japan would launch an attack on the West Coast. The soldiers were all sent to California instead.

Toward the end of World War II, Fort Sill officials requested that a bank location be built on the post. This bank was subsequently chartered as Fort Sill National Bank in 1946.

In January 1954, Montgomery organized a two-bank holding company. He served as chairman of the board of both banks and the holding company.

In the early 70’s, Lawton was undergoing an urban renewal. Much of the downtown area was demolished to make room for new business. It was during this time that the City National Bank Building was torn down to make way for a new headquarters. Montgomery oversaw planning for the new building but died before it was completed. That building has remained the bank’s headquarters for more than 40 years.

The bank opened its first branch outside the main bank in 1984. It was one of the first banks in Lawton to have a drive-thru and ATMs.

City National Bank installed its first in-store branch in a Lawton Walmart in 1997. In the ensuing years, the bank added many more in-store branches across Oklahoma. The bank expanded beyond Oklahoma for the first time when they opened branches in Kansas. Today, City National Bank has more than 35 locations spread across Oklahoma and southern Kansas.