We can't help you snack wisely.
But we can help you invest wisely.

History

How it all started

In the summer of 1995, a group of prominent businesspeople led by our Board Chairman, Bill Martin, began the process to establish an independent community bank, filing the applications for a new bank charter and deposit insurance. On January 16, 1996, Bank of Ann Arbor opened its doors, with 15 employees and one location on S. Fifth Ave in Ann Arbor, MI. By 2002, Bank of Ann Arbor had opened three branches in Ann Arbor and launched our Trust Department, eBanking Department, and the Technology Industry Group.

2004 was an exceptional year, Tim Marshall was named President and CEO and despite the slowing economy, Bank of Ann Arbor's assets grew to $464 million with Trust Assets Under Management totaling $370 million.

We celebrated our 10th anniversary in 2006 while introducing our "Helps" campaign, symbolizing our mission to be of service to our customers and our community.

2008 was a special year in our story, we held the inaugural season of Sonic Lunch, our weekly outdoor summer concert series performed in Ann Arbor's Liberty Plaza. Sonic Lunch's family friendly entertainment still continues to be part of summer tradition for the Ann Arbor community.

In 2010, with the assistance of the FDIC, Bank of Ann Arbor acquired New Liberty Bank located in Plymouth, MI. This became our first location outside of Washtenaw County. In 2011, we marked the celebration of our fifteenth anniversary by launching our social media Sweet 15 Local Charity Drive. Our Facebook community grew from just a few hundred followers to over 16,000 in 60 days.

Bank of Ann Arbor acquired privately held national equipment lease and finance company Ervin Leasing in 2013, as well as opened our seventh location in Saline, MI. We were also recognized by Financial Management Consulting Group as the "#1 performing bank in Michigan in 2013". By 2015, our total assets grew to $1.2 billion, and we were honored for the second time by the American Bankers Association as one of the "U. S's Top 50 Best Banks to Work For in 2015". The Independent Community Bankers of America recognized us as one of the "Top 50 Community Bank Leaders" in Social Media, with three of our team member included in the "Top 25 Community Bank Influencers on Twitter".

In 2016, we celebrated our twenty-year anniversary, this milestone included the introduction of Bank of Ann Arbor's new logo. The following year, we acquired our office in Birmingham, welcoming eight new directors to our advisory board. In every year since 2018, we have received recognition from Crain's Detroit Business as a member of their "Fast 50" list.

2019 marked our 10th consecutive year of record-level earnings performance and balance sheet growth. The same year also brought recognition from Detroit Free Press as "One of the Top Workplaces in Michigan" and DBusiness, when we ranked #4 for largest banks and thrifts in Metro Detroit.

2020 was a year that embodied one word: Helps. We were able to help more than 1,400 small businesses with Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and supported more than 200 nonprofit organizations with both time and financials.

Growth continued in late 2021 through early 2022. On December 1, 2021, the merger agreement with First National Bank in Howell was completed. With this agreement, our footprint expanded to Livingston County, for a total of 17 branch locations and more than 300 employees. It also brought us a new Board Member to Arbor Bancorp, along with the development of a Community Board to serve our new clients. On January 24, 2022, we completed the purchase of an additional branch office in downtown Birmingham. Our total assets for the bank now exceed $3.3 billion and our assets under management in our Trust and Investment Group exceed $2 billion.

Since our founding, it has been our mission to support the communities we serve, contributing over $8.3 million to help support local nonprofit organizations, schools, faith-based institutions, the arts and others. Bank of Ann Arbor is committed today to the same purpose for which it was founded, to be of service to our community. Our growth is a reflection of what we strive to do each and every day: Help the businesses and families of Washtenaw, Livingston, Oakland and Wayne County achieve their financial goals and help make all the communities that we serve, a better place to live, work, and play.