Busey Bank

Busey's story dates back to 1868, when Samuel Busey and two co-founders opened the Busey Brothers and Company Bank. Busey is a leading financial services institution serving Illinois, Indiana and southwest Florida. Below is a look back at the History & Heritage of Busey.

1868: Busey Brothers & Company Bank opens its doors on January 13, 1868, in Urbana, a young county seat with a population of approximately 2000. The financiers took in $9,555.60 that first day.

1913: Bank receives its state charter, becoming Busey State Bank.

1922: Trust powers are granted to the Shelby Loan & Trust Company in Shelbyville, Illinois.

Pulaski Building and Loan Association opens to assist the St. Louis community with saving money and purchasing homes.

1926: Creation of Farm Management Services.

1935: Busey State Bank joins the FDIC. After weathering the stock market crash and depression, the bank continues without a penny of deposits being lost.

1945: The Bank receives its federal charter on September 1, 1945, becoming Busey First National Bank, the day before World War II ended.

1963: Celebrating a century of service in Champaign, Trevett-Mattis becomes Bank of Illinois.

1968: On the 100th anniversary of Busey First National Bank, assets exceed $34 million.

1971: Busey First National Bank changes ownership. For the first time, the bank is controlled by someone outside the Busey family.

1975: Busey inaugurates Champaign-Urbana's Sweetcorn Festival, an event that continues to this day.

1980: Busey First National Bank organizes First Busey Corporation as a bank holding company.

1984: FirsTech, Inc. opens to offer lockbox, processing services to large, utility firms.

1987: Busey First National Bank, Champaign County Bank & Trust and City Bank merges to form Busey Bank, a state chartered bank.

1991: Pulaski Building and Loan Association renamed to Pulaski Bank- reflecting their broad array of consumer financial services.

1993: Busey Bank celebrates its 125th Anniversary. With assets of $675 million and stockholders’ equity in excess of $53 million, Busey Bank is now one of the largest financial institutions headquartered in East Central Illinois.

1995: Trevett-Mattis, now known as BankIllinois, merges with Champaign National Bank, keeping the name BankIllinois.

1997: Busey Ebank is launched as a fully transactional electronic bank.

1998: First Busey Corporation stock trades on NASDAQ under the symbol BUSE.

Busey Bank expands to Indianapolis, Indiana, creating a loan production office to serve the needs of the community.

Pulaski Financial Corp and First Busey Corp stocks trade on NASDAQ under the symbols PULB and BUSE. Busey farm brokerage is established.

1999: Busey continues expansion in McLean County with the acquisition of Eagle Bank Group (First Federal Savings and Loan of Bloomington).

First Busey Corporation's total assets, for the first time in its history, exceeds $1 billion.

2000: Main Street Trust, Inc. forms as a result of the merger of BankIllinois Financial Corporation and First Decatur Bancshares, Inc. Main Street operates 19 banking centers and is the parent company of BankIllinois, First National Bank of Decatur, First Trust Bank of Shelbyville and FirsTech, Inc., a telecommunications bill processing company.

2001: Fort Myers, Florida becomes headquarters for Busey Bank Florida.

2004: Busey Investment Group opens office in Bloomington, Illinois.

BankIllinois and The First National Bank of Decatur merge, taking the name Main Street Bank & Trust.

Busey acquires First Capital Bank with four locations in Peoria and Tazewell Counties. These banks take the Busey name in mid-2005.

Illinois Bankers Association names Busey Chairman Doug Mills Banker of the Year2005: Busey Bank Florida acquires Tarpon Coast National Bank with four locations in Charlotte & Sarasota Counties.

2005: Main Street Bank & Trust acquires Citizens First Financial Corporation.

2007: First Busey and Main Street merger is finalized on July 31, 2007- Van A. Dukeman is named President and Chief Executive Officer. A new Busey brand is introduced representing the strength and stability of the combined organizations.

2009: Busey becomes one of the first in the banking industry to launch mobile banking- text messages, mobile web browsers and Busey's Mobile App- allowing customers the ability to manage their finances anytime, anywhere.

First Busey Corporation merges with its subsidiary, Busey Bank, N.A., headquartered in Fort Myers, Florida, becoming Busey Bank.

2011: Busey joins social media—Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

2012: The Busey family of financial services expands its offerings by founding Trevett Capital Partners, a boutique firm dedicated to serving the wealth management needs of high net worth families.

Busey associates and their families give back to the community during inaugural Community Promise Week

2013 and 2014: Busey is named among Forbes’ list of America's most trustworthy companies- a tribute to our model of openness and integrity.

2015: Building on storied tradition of outstanding service and community commitment, Herget Bank joins the Busey family of financial services.

Busey is recognized by the Independent Community Bankers of America among the Top 50 Community Bank Leaders in social media for the second consecutive year.

2016: Busey is voted among the Best Banks to Work For in the U.S. and Best Places to Work in Illinois by our associates, Best Companies Group, and American Banker Magazine.

Busey welcomes Pulaski Bank on April 30, 2016- expanding our strong foundation with deeply rooted community ties, in the St. Louis area and beyond.

2017: First Community of the greater Chicagoland area joins Busey.

2018: South Side Bank of Peoria joins Busey in March 2018.

2019: TheBANK of Edwardsville joins Busey on January 31, 2019.

In March 2009, the U.S. Treasury gave Busey $100 million in exchange for Busey stock as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Busey paid $12.4 million in dividends on the stock.[4] In August 2011, Busey returned $27.4 million to the Treasury and moved the remaining $72.6 million from the TARP program to the Treasury's Small Business Lending Fund, which has fewer restrictions and may require smaller dividends.[5]

This practice of exchanging TARP funds for SBLF funds has been criticized by the TARP Inspector General and members of Congress, as banks can use it to lift the restrictions imposed by TARP even while reducing their small business lending.[6]

Busey Bank
Busey Wealth Management
FirsTech, Inc. TheBANK of Edwardsville