Holmes named FirstBank president

FirstBank, the state's No. 9 deposit holder and one of its largest community banks, has named Nashville-based Chris Holmes president.

Holmes, whose previous title was chief banking officer, is taking over from Doug Cruickshanks, a former Tennessee president for Bank of America who had been FirstBank president since 2002. Cruikshanks will move on to be vice chairman of the bank’s board and help oversee governance and regulatory relationships.

“This is the culmination of a well-executed two-year transition plan,” said FirstBank owner Jim Ayers. “Doug and Chris have worked hard fine-tuning the bank’s strategic plan to ensure that our continued growth honors our tradition of community banking. Chris fits in well with our management team, and I could not have imagined a better cultural fit for FirstBank.”

Holmes joined FirstBank in 2010 from South Carolina-based South Financial Group and also is a member of its board. He also spent more than a decade at the former National Commerce Financial, rising to be president of its National Commerce Bank Services unit.

FirstBank has $2.1 billion in assets and runs 54 branches. It last year made several mortgage acquisitions [2] and now has more than 600 employees. Earlier this month, it named former Regions executive Allen Oakley to lead [3] its Middle Tennessee operations.

“We have a great team dedicated to being the best bank in the Southeast,” said Holmes. “I am looking forward to leading this team and continuing FirstBank’s legacy of community support and customer service.”