Two immigrant brothers from
Ohio,
Herman Kountze and
Augustus Kountze, founded the bank as Kountze Brothers Bank in 1857. It traded primarily in
gold dust and
bison hides. The bank received national charter #209 in 1863 and began doing business as First National Bank of Omaha. It brought in additional investors, including
Edward Creighton, who served as president. In 1953, under the leadership of John Lauritzen, First National Bank became the first bank in the region and the fifth in the nation to issue
credit cards. In 1968, due to an investment in real estate not permitted under a straight banking charter, the bank reorganized as a subsidiary of the
bank holding company, First National of Nebraska, Inc. In 1971, employees started moving into the 22-story
First National Center. Attached to a 420-room hotel and a 550-stall parking garage, it became one of the most modern buildings in the region, providing economic development in downtown Omaha. In 1987, Bruce Lauritzen was named president of the bank. In 2000, First National Bank designated two parcels of green space for the city of Omaha. They are the current sites of two sculpture parks called "Spirit of Nebraska's Wilderness" and "Pioneer Courage". Working in tandem, the two sculptures join to make one of the largest bronze sculptures in the world. In 2002, First National Bank completed construction on the
First National Bank Tower, the tallest building between
Chicago and
Denver. From 2006 to 2009, Rajive Johri was president of the bank. From 2009 to 2017, Dan O'Neil was president of the bank. On September 30, 2010, the bank holding company, First National of Nebraska, consolidated its bank charters of
First National Bank of Colorado, in
Fort Collins, Colorado;
First National Bank of Kansas, in
Overland Park, Kansas; and Castle Bank, in
DeKalb, Illinois, with its First National Bank of Omaha charter. In 2010, the bank sold a 51% interest in its merchant acquiring business to
TSYS for $150.5 million. TSYS acquired the remaining 49% of the business the following year. In 2014, the bank holding company consolidated the charter of First National Bank South Dakota with the charter of First National Bank of Omaha. In 2017, Clark Lauritzen was named president of the bank. In 2018, the bank ended its credit card affinity program with the
National Rifle Association of America (NRA) due to customer complaints after the
Parkland high school shooting. In 2020, the bank changed its branding to
FNBO from First National Bank of Omaha.
Acquisition history ==Office locations==