Our History

Who we are


Union Bank has the longest financial heritage in Polk County. From its earliest days in Mena, the bank has always sought to support the business and industries responsible for growing and sustaining the local economy. In March 1897, Mena’s first bank was organized and while its name and locations have changed and evolved through history, the bank’s ownership has always remained local with local businessmen/women who are invested and deeply rooted in Mena and Polk County.

The bank, like many others, temporarily closed its doors when a ‘banking holiday’ was declared in March of 1933 by then President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It reopened in 1934, the same year as FDIC insurance, as The Union Bank of Mena. In 2005, the bank purchased First National Bank at Paris and expanded its footprint into the River Valley region of Arkansas, providing us with nine locations in Mena, Hatfield, and Wickes in Polk County and now Paris, Clarksville, Ozark, Caulksville, Booneville, and Waldron.

Our community bank, with very humble beginnings, is now a regional banking center. The bank officially simplified its name to Union Bank 2023. It now proudly employs over 110 team members with an estimated $6.1 million annual payroll.

What we believe is the main principle that differentiates us is that, like our founders, we continue to focus on servicing our local customers with local people making local decisions. This personal banking style allows for timely decision-making and flexibility. We remain safe, sound and secure. We are regulated by the FDIC, meaning all deposits are insured up to $250,000.

We also embrace technology and innovation. We take pride in offering online services for your 24/7 convenience and incorporate products that will allow us, the bank you know and trust, to serve as your financial hub by partnering with financial technology providers.

Our customers and our communities are at the very core of who we are. As a community bank, we pride ourselves in reinvesting in our local communities. If there is a community activity going on, rest assured you will find both our financial investment or our people giving back and serving in every corner of our hometown. 

While our local founders may have never imagined all those years ago the regional banking center we have now become, the sense of community they instilled in the beginning remains our guiding principle each and every day.