KS Bank officials made it official Monday, announcing plans to open its first Sampson County financial center at 201 E. Roseboro St. in downtown Roseboro. The branch is expected to open in November, and will bring local, in-person banking back to a community that has been without a bank for nearly four years.
Roseboro lost two bank branches within approximately six months of one another in 2022 and 2023, and town officials and business leaders never stopped working to restore convenient access to banking services for residents, farmers and businesses throughout Roseboro and Western Sampson County.
That commitment included an investment by Crumpler Plastic Pipe’s Chip Crumpler and his family. When one of the former bank buildings became available, the family purchased it with the specific goal of preserving the property as a banking location and attracting a community bank to Roseboro.
Crumpler shared in a phone interview that after another banking institution’s leaders told Roseboro officials “one of the biggest obstacles is you don’t have a building for me to come to,” he knew eliminating that obstacle could make a significant difference in getting a bank back in town. He said he purchased the old Truist building in June 2024, with the hopes that soon enough a bank could return to the building.
“I’m very pleased that the bank is coming,” expressed Crumpler as he thanked everyone who played a part in bringing KS Bank to Roseboro, specifically naming Mayor Alice Butler, Arnold Sandy, John Holland, Robbie James and Rupert’s Furniture, adding that so many people helped, including a multitude of farmers, and that it was “too many to name.”
Crumpler also wanted to thank Earl Worley and KS Bank, and he emphasized his desire for the citizens of Roseboro to show KS Bank their support, stating “this was only the minimum they needed to open; they need deposits to stay indefinitely,” naming $60 million as the goal for the financial institution.
“We want to make the other banks wish they had stayed, and we want to put our faith in KS Bank” stressed Crumpler. He added that KS Bank is a well run institution so “there should be no problems there.”
Roseboro’s mayor echoed Crumpler’s excitement for KS Bank to open a branch in Roseboro.
“I am incredibly grateful that KS Bank believed in Roseboro and chose to invest in our community,” Butler said in a recent interview. “Having a bank back in Roseboro is truly a game changer for our town.” the mayor stressed.
She added that “for the past four years, we have heard how much our citizens missed having a local bank. This fall, that changes.”
Mayor Butler reiterated Crumpler’s urging that the community support the new bank by opening accounts there. “I hope our citizens and businesses will welcome KS Bank, support their new location, and show them how thankful we are to have them here in Roseboro,” the mayor emphasized.
Worley said he welcomed the opportunity to bring KS to the western Sampson town.
“Roseboro never stopped believing that local banking matters,” said Earl W. Worley, Jr., president and CEO of KS Bank in the press release announcing KS Bank’s expansion to Roseboro.
“The determination shown by the town’s leaders, business community and residents over the past several years reflects the kind of community spirit that aligns with who we are as a bank. We are coming to Roseboro to build personal relationships, support local businesses, farmers and families, and invest in the community for the long term. We are honored to help bring full-service community banking back to Roseboro and Western Sampson County,” Worley stressed.
“We’re excited to come to Roseboro,” said Worley, president and CEO of KS Bank, in a Monday phone interview. “We think it can be a great partnership. We are a community bank, so expect personal service,” the president emphasized.
Worley praised the town and its leaders, and all the hard work put into making a bank in Roseboro a reality after nearly four years, stating “the community should be proud of its leaders. They’ve worked hard.”
KS Bank was established in 1924 and has built its community-banking model around accessible bankers, personal relationships and investment in the communities it serves. The Roseboro location will be the bank’s first financial center in Sampson County and, when opened, its thirteenth location. The projected opening is this November.