Primis Financial Corp. (FRST): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money

Are you defintely tracking the regional banks that are successfully blending community focus with scalable digital strategy, like Primis Financial Corp. (FRST)? This institution is proving the model works, reporting a Q3 2025 net income of $6.8 million and driving its net interest margin up to 3.18% through September 30, 2025, which is a clear signal of operational leverage at work. With total assets hitting $4.0 billion and a tangible book value per common share rising 12% to $11.71 in the first nine months of 2025, you have to ask: how is this bank achieving such significant profitability improvement in a challenging market? We'll break down their history, their mission to serve both local and national niche markets like healthcare through Panacea Financial, and precisely how their dual-platform approach makes money.

Primis Financial Corp. (FRST) History

You're looking for the bedrock of Primis Financial Corp.'s operation, and the story is one of strategic evolution from a community-focused bank to a tech-forward financial institution. The direct takeaway is that Primis, originally established in the late 1990s, underwent a critical re-branding and digital pivot around 2019-2020, which is now driving its recent profitability, with year-to-date 2025 net income hitting $32 million.

Given Company's Founding Timeline

Year established

The company was established in 1998, forming the foundation for what would become Primis Bank. To be fair, the holding company, formerly Southern National Bancorp of Virginia, Inc., has a complex history of mergers, but 1998 marks the core entity's start.

Original location

The original location was in Richmond, Virginia, reflecting its initial mission as a traditional, community-focused bank serving the local region.

Founding team members

Specific names for the original founding team are not publicly detailed, but the establishment is attributed to visionaries who saw a clear market need for community banking in the Virginia region.

Initial capital/funding

The precise initial capital or funding amount from the founding year is not publicly disclosed. Like most financial institutions of that era, it would have involved raising capital through private placements and local investors to meet regulatory requirements and fuel early growth.

Given Company's Evolution Milestones

Given Company's Transformative Moments

The real transformation for Primis Financial Corp. wasn't a single event; it was a series of sharp, deliberate pivots that redefined its operating model. You're defintely seeing the results now.

The most significant shift was the move from a traditional, branch-heavy regional bank to a hybrid 'bank with the brains of a tech company.' This started in 2020 with the development of their digital platform, V1BE, which offers a fully digital checking account backed by a traditional, FDIC-insured bank.

• The Digital Pivot: The success of the digital strategy is quantifiable: as of the third quarter of 2025, digital deposits surpassed $1.0 billion, providing a stable, lower-cost funding source than many competitors.
• The Niche Specialization: The launch and growth of specialized divisions like Panacea Financial, which focuses on medical doctors, was a brilliant move. This niche focus has driven substantial growth, with Panacea loans outstanding reaching $548 million in Q3 2025.
• The Asset Re-Focus: Management clearly decided to cut what wasn't working. The 2021 divestiture of the insurance business and the more recent focus on growing the Mortgage Warehouse lending division-which saw balances soar to $327 million by September 30, 2025-shows a commitment to higher-margin, scalable assets.

Here's the quick math: Primis Financial Corp. reported total assets of $4.0 billion as of September 30, 2025, with total loans held for investment at $3.2 billion, a strong indicator of a focused, capital-efficient lending machine. If you want to dive deeper into who's betting on this strategy, you should be Exploring Primis Financial Corp. (FRST) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Primis Financial Corp. (FRST) Ownership Structure

Primis Financial Corp. (FRST) is a publicly traded entity, but its ownership is heavily concentrated among institutional investors, which is typical for a regional bank holding company. This means that while you can buy shares on the open market, the majority of the decision-making power rests with large funds and firms, not individual retail shareholders.

Primis Financial Corp.'s Current Status

Primis Financial Corp. is a publicly traded company, listed on the NASDAQ Global Market under the ticker symbol FRST. As of November 2025, the company maintains a market capitalization (market cap) of approximately $268.24 million. This status subjects the company to rigorous public reporting requirements by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), ensuring a degree of transparency in its financial health and governance.

The company's primary subsidiary is Primis Bank, which operates 24 full-service branches across Virginia and Maryland, plus a growing digital banking platform. This dual structure-a public holding company overseeing a regulated bank-is a key factor in understanding its governance. For a deeper dive into the company's performance metrics, you should check out Breaking Down Primis Financial Corp. (FRST) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Primis Financial Corp.'s Ownership Breakdown

The ownership structure shows a clear majority held by institutional money, which often translates to a focus on long-term stability and regulated growth. Here's the quick math on who owns the shares as of the 2025 fiscal year data:

Honestly, when you see institutional ownership nearing 80%, it means the stock's price movements are defintely driven by the collective decisions of major financial players. That's a big lever to watch.

Primis Financial Corp.'s Leadership

The company is steered by a seasoned executive team and an independent Board of Directors, ensuring a separation of management and oversight. The leadership is responsible for integrating the traditional banking operations with their newer digital-first strategies.

The key executive management team as of November 2025 includes:

• Dennis J. Zember, Jr.: Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He drives the overall vision, especially the digital expansion.
• Matthew A. Switzer: Executive Vice President (EVP), Chief Financial Officer (CFO). He oversees the financial reporting and strategy, a critical role given the bank's 2025 Q3 net income of $7.0 million.
• Rick Fulk: EVP, Primis Bank President. He focuses on the core banking operations and customer relationships.
• John F. Biagas: Independent Director and Chairman of the Board. The Board provides governance and strategic oversight, with a majority of independent directors.

This structure, with the CEO focusing on growth and the CFO on the numbers, plus a strong independent board, is a solid framework for corporate governance.

Primis Financial Corp. (FRST) Mission and Values

Primis Financial Corp. stands out by blending the stability of a traditional, FDIC-insured bank with the agility and innovation of a technology company. Their core mission is to champion the customer experience and propel the banking industry forward, not just process transactions.

You're not just looking for a balance sheet; you want to know the cultural DNA driving the numbers. Honestly, their purpose goes beyond the $4.0 billion in total assets reported as of September 30, 2025, focusing instead on solving real problems for real people.

Primis Financial Corp.'s Core Purpose

The company's core purpose is to challenge the status quo in banking, delivering services that truly serve and solutions that actually solve. It's about combining community focus-operating 24 full-service branches in Virginia and Maryland-with a national digital reach. This dual approach is what allows them to serve both local small businesses and niche national markets like medical professionals through Panacea Financial.

Official Mission Statement

While Primis Financial Corp. doesn't publish a single, cliched mission statement, their operational focus makes their mandate clear: to provide a comprehensive, personalized suite of financial services while upholding strong community values. They're committed to a better way of banking, and that means a relentless focus on customer-centric results.

• Deliver comprehensive financial solutions, from commercial lending to wealth management.
• Build lasting customer relationships through personalized service and advice.
• Uphold strong community values, including empowering women and advancing STEM opportunities.
• Solve real needs and problems using technology and human expertise.

Vision Statement

The vision for Primis is to be the first bank to 'get it right,' integrating the security of a regulated institution with the innovative brainpower of a tech firm. They see an industry stuck in a rut, so their vision is to be the catalyst that forces better features, benefits, and services for everyone.

This vision is backed by concrete growth, like the Panacea Financial segment, which grew its loan portfolio to $505 million in Q2 2025, a 34% year-over-year increase. They're defintely not just talking about innovation; they're funding it.

• Be the industry champion for customers and propel banking forward.
• Combine FDIC-insured institutional backing with tech company innovation.
• Achieve a goal of banking 10,000 medical professionals through Panacea by end of 2025.

Primis Financial Corp. Slogan/Tagline

Their tagline, 'Primis - dare to demand,' perfectly captures their challenger mindset. It's a call to action for both the company and its customers, implicitly asking: Why settle for less from your bank?

This spirit of demanding better is evident in their digital platform, which ended Q2 2025 with almost $1.1 billion in deposits, showcasing that customers are demanding a more functional, safer digital experience. You can dive deeper into who is buying into this vision by Exploring Primis Financial Corp. (FRST) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

• Focus on innovation and thinking outside the box.
• Take full responsibility for performance and customer experience.
• Reward creative actions that improve customer results.

Primis Financial Corp. (FRST) How It Works

Primis Financial Corp. (FRST) operates as a diversified financial holding company, generating revenue primarily through traditional interest-based lending and deposits, plus a growing focus on high-margin, niche national banking segments and mortgage warehouse lending. The company is executing a clear strategy to simplify its structure and drive profitability by leveraging its digital platform to lower its cost of funds and expand its specialized lending divisions.

Given Company's Product/Service Portfolio

Given Company's Operational Framework

You're seeing Primis shift from a regional bank with a volatile consumer loan book to a more focused, national-niche lender supported by a low-cost digital funding engine. Their operational value creation centers on two key pillars: efficient funding and specialized lending.

• Fund Lending with Low-Cost Deposits: The company uses its digital platform and core bank management to reduce its cost of funds. Noninterest-bearing demand deposits grew at a 16% annualized rate to $490 million as of September 30, 2025, which helps them maintain a competitive net interest margin (NIM) of 3.18% in Q3 2025.
• Scale Niche Lending: They aggressively grew their Mortgage Warehouse lending balances by 411% in the first nine months of 2025, while Panacea Financial continues to grow its high-quality, specialized loan portfolio.
• Simplify the Balance Sheet: The deconsolidation of Panacea Financial Holdings in Q1 2025 resulted in a pre-tax gain of approximately $24.6 million, which boosted capital and simplified financial reporting.

Here's the quick math: lower-cost deposits funding higher-yielding, specialized loans drives the improved profitability you saw in Q3 2025, where net income available to common shareholders hit $7 million. You simply gotta get the funding costs down.

Given Company's Strategic Advantages

Primis's strategic edge comes down to technology and specialization, which together create a scalable model that transcends the limits of a traditional branch network. They are defintely not just another regional bank.

• Proprietary Technology for Licensing: The V1BE digital platform is a proprietary technology they are enhancing for potential licensing to other banks, creating a new, high-margin, non-interest revenue stream.
• Niche Market Dominance: The Panacea division's focus on medical professionals creates a powerful, defensible niche. This specialization allows for better risk assessment and stronger customer loyalty than general commercial lending.
• Operating Leverage from Consolidation: Management is working to consolidate its two operational core processing systems, which is expected to generate annual savings of $6 million to $8 million starting in 2026. This move will significantly improve their operating efficiency ratio.
• Strong Capital Position: The strategic moves have bolstered their capital, with tangible book value per common share rising to $11.71 by the end of Q3 2025, an increase of 12% from the start of the year.

To be fair, the success of this strategy hinges on continued growth in the warehouse and Panacea divisions to far outpace the expected runoff in older, less-profitable portfolios. You can read more about the long-term vision in their Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Primis Financial Corp. (FRST).

Primis Financial Corp. (FRST) How It Makes Money

Primis Financial Corp. (FRST) primarily generates revenue through the classic banking model: borrowing money at a lower rate (deposits) and lending it out at a higher rate (loans), which is captured as Net Interest Income. They also earn a significant and growing portion of revenue from non-interest activities, particularly mortgage banking and specialized services from their Panacea Financial division.

Primis Financial Corp.'s Revenue Breakdown

In the third quarter of 2025, Primis Financial Corp. reported total revenue of $41 million, with the split clearly favoring interest-based income, though non-interest income is a crucial growth driver.

Here's the quick math: Net Interest Income was $29 million, and Noninterest Income was $12 million in Q3 2025.

Business Economics

The core of Primis Financial Corp.'s profitability lies in managing its Net Interest Margin (NIM), which is the spread between what they earn on assets (loans) and what they pay on liabilities (deposits). Their Q3 2025 NIM was 3.18%, a solid improvement from 2.97% a year prior, showing effective spread management in a volatile rate environment.

They are defintely focused on lowering their cost of funds. The cost of interest-bearing deposits dropped to 2.88% in Q3 2025 from 3.48% in Q3 2024, thanks partly to a strategic 16% year-over-year growth in noninterest-bearing checking accounts. This shift in deposit mix lowers their overall funding cost by nearly 20%, directly boosting the NIM.

The company's strategy is to use specialized divisions for high-yield, high-growth lending. Panacea Financial, which focuses on healthcare professionals, saw its loan balances rise to $530 million, representing a targeted expansion into commercial and industrial (C&I) lending. New loan production is being booked with yields near 7%, which will continue to drive asset yields higher as older, lower-rate loans mature.

• Improve NIM: Core margin grew to 3.15% in Q3 2025.
• Lower Funding Cost: Noninterest-bearing deposits grew 16% year-over-year.
• Diversify Revenue: Noninterest income, driven by mortgage banking, was $12 million in Q3 2025.

This is a clear strategy: grow low-cost deposits and deploy that capital into higher-yielding, specialized loan segments. You can get more details on the institutional interest in the company by Exploring Primis Financial Corp. (FRST) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Primis Financial Corp.'s Financial Performance

Primis Financial Corp. demonstrated a strong upward trajectory in the third quarter of 2025, signaling that their strategic initiatives are beginning to pay off in core profitability. Net earnings for the quarter were $6.8 million, a substantial increase from $2 million in the same quarter a year ago. This translated to Earnings Per Share (EPS) of $0.28.

From an efficiency standpoint, the Return on Assets (ROA) improved to 70 basis points (0.70%), and the Return on Tangible Common Equity (ROTCE) reached 9.45%. Management estimates the run-rate pre-tax earnings equate to an approximately 90 basis point ROA, suggesting further profitability gains are expected in the near term.

Key balance sheet metrics remain robust, with loans held for investment at $3.2 billion and total deposits at $3.3 billion as of September 30, 2025. The tangible book value per common share also saw healthy growth, climbing to $11.71, an increase of 12% from the end of 2024. This growth in tangible book value is a critical metric for investors focused on intrinsic value.

• Net Earnings (Q3 2025): $6.8 million.
• Tangible Book Value per Share: $11.71 (up 12% from 2024).
• Return on Tangible Common Equity (ROTCE): 9.45%.
• Quarterly Dividend: $0.10 per share, marking the fifty-sixth consecutive payment.

Primis Financial Corp. (FRST) Market Position & Future Outlook

Primis Financial Corp. is shifting from a traditional regional bank model to a specialized, growth-focused financial technology hybrid, evidenced by its strong profitability turnaround in 2025. The company's strategy centers on leveraging its digital platform and niche lending segments to drive a higher return on assets (ROA) and expand its geographic reach beyond its core Virginia and Maryland branches.

Competitive Landscape

Primis competes in the highly fragmented Mid-Atlantic regional banking sector. While its total assets of $4.0 billion as of September 30, 2025, place it as a smaller player, its competitive edge lies in its specialized lending segments and digital banking approach, which allows it to punch above its weight class in specific markets. Here's a look at its relative size against key regional competitors:

The math is quick: Primis's assets are a fraction of the larger players, so it must win on specialization and efficiency.

Opportunities & Challenges

The company is defintely positioned to capitalize on its strategic pivot, but it still faces macro and credit-specific headwinds that require careful navigation. You need to weigh these factors, especially as the company targets a run-rate pre-tax ROA of approximately 90 basis points moving into 2026.

Industry Position

Primis Financial Corp. is a regional bank, but its operational structure is increasingly that of a specialty financial firm. Its core net interest margin (NIM) of 3.15% in the third quarter of 2025 reflects an improved spread income, partly due to divesting non-core, lower-yield assets like the consumer loan book.

• Digital Deposit Strength: The digital platform has maintained over $1.0 billion in deposits, providing a crucial, lower-cost funding source.
• Profitability Momentum: Year-to-date net income through Q3 2025 reached $32 million, a significant turnaround driven by operational efficiency and growth in noninterest income.
• Strategic Focus: Management's deliberate shift away from aggressive, high-cost digital deposit growth towards specialized, higher-margin lending is the core strategy for future earnings per share (EPS) growth, which analysts project to be robust.

For a deeper dive into the shareholder composition driving this strategic direction, you should read Exploring Primis Financial Corp. (FRST) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

The company's focus is on building scale in high-growth, high-margin areas like mortgage warehouse lending and Panacea Financial, which should continue to improve its return on tangible common equity (ROTCE), which hit 9.45% in Q3 2025.