First Bancorp (FBNC): Marketing Mix Analysis [Dec-2025 Updated]

You're looking to cut through the noise and get a precise read on First Bancorp's market strategy as we head into late 2025, and honestly, the numbers tell a compelling story of disciplined growth across the Carolinas. After two decades analyzing banks, I can tell you their mix-from an $8.4 billion loan portfolio to a 3.46% Net Interest Margin in Q3 2025-shows a clear playbook: deep community roots paired with a sharp digital edge. So, if you want to see exactly how their Product, Place, Promotion, and Price are set up to perform, check out the defintely precise breakdown below; it maps out where they are winning right now.

First Bancorp (FBNC) - Marketing Mix: Product

You're looking at the core offerings of First Bancorp (FBNC), which is the holding company for First Bank, serving individuals and businesses across North Carolina and South Carolina. The product strategy centers on a full suite of traditional and modern financial services, aiming to meet diverse client needs from basic transactions to complex wealth preservation.

The lending side of the product portfolio is substantial. As of September 30, 2025, the Total loan portfolio reached $8.4 billion. This portfolio is diversified across several key areas, showing a commitment to both commercial and real estate sectors, while also supporting small business growth through government-backed programs.

Here's a quick look at how that $8.4 billion portfolio was structured at that period end date. We can see the emphasis on commercial lending:

First Bancorp (FBNC) supports business expansion through specialized lending, including SBA lending. The bank generates noninterest income from the gain on sale of the guaranteed portion of these SBA loans, indicating an active participation in that market segment.

On the liability side, the product shelf for deposits is comprehensive, covering the full spectrum of customer needs. You'll find standard checking and savings accounts for everyday use. For clients needing higher liquidity or yield, the offering includes money market accounts, which often feature tiered interest rates. Furthermore, First Bancorp (FBNC) offers various time deposits, such as Certificates of Deposit (CDs) and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), providing secure, fixed-term savings options.

To capture wealth accumulation and planning needs, First Bancorp (FBNC) offers dedicated Wealth Management and Investment Services. This product line is designed to help clients grow and protect assets. Specifically, the services include access to mutual funds, annuities, and comprehensive financial planning services, covering areas like retirement and estate planning.

The digital product suite is a key area of focus for modern banking convenience. The digital banking platform is robust, supporting core functions from any device. You can definitely use features like mobile check deposit for both personal and business accounts. For commercial clients, the Cash Management Online Suite provides tools for optimizing cash flow, including ACH originations for payroll, funds transfers, and cash concentration services to consolidate funds from multiple banks.

Adoption of these digital tools is strong. Online Banking saw an enrollment increase of 15.45% year-over-year recently. Also, approximately 75% of those Online Banking users are enrolled in Electronic Statements, showing a clear preference for paperless documentation.

First Bancorp (FBNC) - Marketing Mix: Place

You're looking at how First Bancorp (FBNC) gets its banking services into the hands of its customers. For a community bank, Place is all about proximity and accessibility within its core markets. It's not about shipping widgets; it's about where you can walk in, log on, or meet a lender.

The physical distribution network is tightly focused, which is typical for a regional player prioritizing local decision-making. First Bancorp's subsidiary, First Bank, maintains a concentrated footprint across North Carolina and South Carolina. This regional focus helps them deliver that tailored community banking approach they advertise.

As of late 2025, the physical network consists of 113 bank branches operating across these two states. The company's central nervous system, the corporate headquarters, is located in Southern Pines, North Carolina. This concentration allows for efficient management of the branch system and deep local market knowledge.

Here's a quick look at the scale of the operation supporting this distribution:

First Bancorp is definitely moving beyond just brick-and-mortar. They employ an omnichannel delivery strategy. This means the physical branches are integrated with robust digital platforms, ensuring customers can manage accounts, make deposits, and access services whether they are in person or using their mobile device. The goal is seamless service across channels.

To extend lending reach outside the immediate branch radius, First Bancorp utilizes Loan Production Offices (LPOs). While the core branch network is in the Carolinas, the bank leverages a nationwide network of lenders specifically to provide SBA loans to customers. This is how they expand their lending market presence without the capital commitment of a full branch build-out in every new metro area.

The distribution of their loan portfolio, which reached $8.4 billion as of September 30, 2025, shows where their physical and extended reach is focused:

• Loan yield expanded to 5.69% in Q3 2025.
• Total loans increased by $193.6 million in Q3 2025.
• Non-owner occupied office loans are generally in non-metro markets.
• The ten largest loans in the non-owner occupied category represent less than 2% of the total loan portfolio.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

First Bancorp (FBNC) - Marketing Mix: Promotion

You're analyzing the promotional efforts of First Bancorp (FBNC) as of late 2025. Promotion is how the bank talks about its value proposition across different channels. Here's the breakdown of what we see in their current communication strategy, grounded in the latest figures.

The promotional narrative strongly leans into the bank's foundational identity and its financial strength, which is a key differentiator in the regional banking space. This dual focus-local roots and capital discipline-is central to their messaging.

• - Targeted marketing emphasizes local expertise and community bank roots.
• - Digital strategy focuses on high engagement through online and mobile platforms.
• - Investor relations highlight strong capital with CET1 at 14.53% in Q1 2025.
• - Public relations leverage consistent profitability and disciplined expense management.
• - Campaigns aim for multi-product household adoption to deepen customer relationships.

For community outreach, the historical data shows a commitment to local presence. In 2023, First Bancorp allocated $2.3 million to targeted marketing campaigns across North Carolina markets, including $456,700 in community sponsorships. This groundwork supports the current emphasis on local expertise.

The digital push is showing results in customer behavior. Retail digital banking registered users grew by 2.6% compared to the previous quarter in Q1 2025, and over 60% of all customers are now enrolled in digital platforms. This adoption helps drive efficiency.

Investor communications focus heavily on the fortress balance sheet. The bank consistently points to capital strength as a bedrock for stability and future action. This is a core part of the external narrative.

Public relations messaging ties strong operational results to this capital position. For instance, Q1 2025 saw Net Income of $77.1 million, supported by an efficiency ratio improvement to 49.6%. More recently, Q3 2025 reported an adjusted Net Income of $41.8 million, showing core profitability persists despite one-time items.

Driving deeper relationships is a clear campaign objective, incentivized through pricing tiers. The structure for multi-product adoption offers tangible savings to the customer household. Here's how that looks:

• 2 products: 0.10% interest rate reduction
• 3 products: 0.25% interest rate reduction
• 4+ products: 0.50% interest rate reduction

This is supported by deposit growth, which fuels lending capacity; Q1 2025 saw customer deposits grow by $214.1 million, and Q3 2025 added $139.5 million in non-maturity deposits. Finance: draft Q4 2025 customer adoption rate by next Tuesday.

First Bancorp (FBNC) - Marketing Mix: Price

You're looking at how First Bancorp (FBNC) structures the money customers pay for its services as of late 2025. This is about their pricing strategy, which directly impacts their profitability and market competitiveness.

The core of First Bancorp (FBNC)'s pricing power is reflected in its net interest margin performance. Net Interest Margin (NIM) expanded to 3.46% in Q3 2025. This expansion is a direct result of how they price their assets versus their liabilities.

On the asset side, the pricing on loans has been effective. Loan yield increased to 5.69% in Q3 2025 due to asset repricing. This is supported by total interest income reaching $144,200 thousand in Q3 2025.

Managing the cost of funds is critical to maintaining that margin. Total cost of deposits was tightly managed at 1.46% in Q3 2025. This discipline helped keep total interest expense at $41,711 thousand for the same period. Noninterest-bearing demand deposits represented 33% of total deposits at September 30, 2025.

Here's a quick look at the key margin components from Q3 2025:

Beyond the core lending spread, First Bancorp (FBNC) uses relationship-based incentives to drive customer stickiness and product bundling. Relationship-based pricing offers interest rate reductions for bundled products. This strategy aims to increase the lifetime value of a client relationship, even if it means a slight immediate concession on a single product's rate.

Fee income provides a diversified revenue stream, which helps buffer against interest rate fluctuations. Fee income is diversified, with service charges on deposits totaling $4.2 million in Q3 2025. Also, excluding a significant securities loss, noninterest income totaled $15.0 million during Q3 2025.

You can see the resulting net interest income, which is the primary driver of profitability, was $102,489 thousand in Q3 2025. The bank's pricing strategy is clearly focused on maximizing this spread while maintaining a competitive deposit base.

Finance: draft a sensitivity analysis on NIM if the total cost of deposits were to rise by 10 basis points by Friday.