First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (FGBI): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money

How does a community bank, with a history stretching back to its 1934 founding in Hammond, Louisiana, navigate the current financial headwinds? First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (FGBI), which operates across Louisiana and Texas, is a fascinating case study right now, especially considering their total assets stood at $3.8 billion as of September 30, 2025, but their nine-month net loss reached $(58.5) million due to a significant $47.9 million provision for credit losses in Q3 alone. You need to understand the core business model-commercial and consumer loans, plus wealth management-to see how they plan to turn things around after such a tough year, so let's dig into the mechanics of this bank holding company.

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (FGBI) History

You're looking for the foundational story of First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (FGBI), and the history is a two-part narrative. The core bank, First Guaranty Bank, has been a Louisiana staple since the Great Depression, but the holding company structure that trades on the NASDAQ is a more recent creation. This evolution from a local community bank to a publicly traded financial holding company (FHC) shows a deliberate strategy to expand its geographic footprint and capital base.

Given Company's Founding Timeline

Year established

The primary subsidiary, First Guaranty Bank, was established in 1934 as Guaranty Bank & Trust Company. The current holding company, First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (FGBI), was formally founded much later, on July 27, 2007, to facilitate strategic growth and acquisitions.

Original location

The bank's roots and current headquarters are in Hammond, Louisiana. This location in Tangipahoa Parish, north of New Orleans, has been the operational base since its founding, though its footprint now spans Louisiana, Texas, Kentucky, and West Virginia.

Founding team members

While the original 1934 founders are part of local history, the modern, publicly-traded FGBI was shaped by a seasoned leadership team focused on expansion. Key figures instrumental in its public debut and growth include Marshall T. Reynolds, who serves as the Chairman of the Board, and Alton B. Lewis, who served as President and CEO for the critical growth period from 2009 until his retirement in 2024. Mr. Lewis was pivotal in coordinating the 2015 Initial Public Offering (IPO).

Initial capital/funding

The first major public capital event for the holding company was its Initial Public Offering (IPO) on November 5, 2015, listing on the NASDAQ under the symbol FGBI. The offering was priced at $20.70 per share. Here's the quick math: with approximately 3,571,428 shares offered by the company itself, this public offering raised gross proceeds of around $73.83 million to support loan portfolio growth and strategic acquisitions.

Given Company's Evolution Milestones

Given Company's Transformative Moments

The company's trajectory has been defined by a few sharp turns, moving it from a local Louisiana institution to a diversified regional player. The most critical shift was the decision to become a financial holding company, which enabled the acquisition strategy that drove asset growth from $931 million to approximately $3.6 billion under former CEO Alton Lewis.

The 2015 IPO was defintely a game-changer. It provided the capital to make larger loans and fund strategic acquisitions, like the 2017 purchase of Premier Bancshares for $21 million in cash and stock, and the 2019 deal for Union Bancshares. This is how a community bank becomes a regional one.

• The Acquisition Spree: Aggressive M&A activity, starting with Homestead Bancorp in 2007, was the engine of growth, expanding the branch network across multiple states and diversifying the loan portfolio.
• The Post-IPO Capitalization: Beyond the initial IPO, the company continued to bolster its capital, including a 2023 private placement that raised $10 million, demonstrating the board's commitment to building a fortress balance sheet.
• The 2025 Credit Headwinds: The most recent transformative moment is the significant financial challenge reported in the third quarter of 2025. The company recorded a $47.9 million provision for credit losses, with a large portion tied to a single commercial lease relationship involving a Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This forced a strategic pivot to reduce balance sheet risk and cut the quarterly cash dividend to $0.01 per common share to preserve capital.

This recent experience highlights the near-term risk of concentrated credit exposure, even in a diversified bank. As of September 30, 2025, total assets were $3.8 billion, but the net loss for the first nine months of 2025 was $(58.5) million, a sharp reversal from the prior year. This sets the stage for the company's next chapter, which is focused on capital preservation and risk management. To understand the current strategic direction, you should review the Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (FGBI).

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (FGBI) Ownership Structure

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (FGBI) is controlled by a concentrated group of insiders, which gives them significant leverage over strategic decisions, while the majority of the remaining float is held by individual retail investors. This structure means that a relatively small number of people-executives and directors-hold the deciding vote on the company's future direction, a critical factor for any potential or current shareholder to understand.

Given Company's Current Status

First Guaranty Bancshares is a publicly traded bank holding company, meaning you can buy and sell its shares easily on a major exchange. The company trades on the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC under the ticker symbol FGBI, and its depositary shares trade as FGBIP. As of November 2025, the company's market capitalization-the total value of all its outstanding shares-was approximately $94.27 million. That's a relatively small market cap, which often means the stock can be more volatile than larger financial institutions. The company reported a third-quarter loss in October 2025, posting revenues of $24.1 million for the quarter ending September 2025.

If you're looking for a deeper dive into who is making moves in the stock, you should check out Exploring First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (FGBI) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Given Company's Ownership Breakdown

The ownership structure of First Guaranty Bancshares is highly concentrated among company insiders, which is not typical for a bank of this size and gives the leadership a very strong position. Honestly, when insiders hold more than half the stock, they defintely have the power to approve any major corporate action, like a merger or acquisition, without needing much outside support. Here's the quick breakdown of who owns the shares as of November 2025, based on recent filings:

What this estimate hides is the potential for a few large individual or family holdings within the retail category, but the 58.72% insider control is the main takeaway. For context, major institutional players like Vanguard Group Inc. and BlackRock, Inc. are among the largest outside shareholders, but their combined stake is minimal compared to the insiders.

Given Company's Leadership

The company's strategy is steered by a seasoned, albeit small, executive team and an experienced Board of Directors. The average tenure for the board is about 9.4 years, suggesting stability and deep familiarity with the bank's operations, but also a potential resistance to rapid change.

The key figures driving the day-to-day operations and governance are:

• Mr. Michael Ray Mineer: Serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), a role he has held since May 2024.
• Eric J. Dosch: Holds the critical financial roles of Chief Accounting Officer, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Treasurer, and Secretary.
• Marshall T. Reynolds: The Independent Chairman of the Board.
• Alton Lewis: Serves as the Independent Vice Chairman of the Board.

The compensation for the CEO, Mr. Mineer, was approximately $622,553 in total compensation for the 2024 fiscal year, which is about average for a company of this size. The board's composition, including directors like Robert W. Walker, who joined in March 2025, is focused on bringing in banking veterans to navigate the current challenging financial climate. Your next step should be to look at the recent proxy statements to see how the board and management are aligning their incentives with shareholder returns.

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (FGBI) Mission and Values

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc.'s core purpose is to balance increasing shareholder value with a deep commitment to the financial health and overall welfare of the local communities it serves. This dual focus defines its cultural DNA, extending beyond simple transactions into financial education and community growth.

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc.'s Core Purpose

The company's mission and values reveal a trend-aware realist approach, especially when you look at their recent financial performance: a net loss of $58.5 million for the nine months ending September 30, 2025, driven by a $47.9 million provision for credit losses. This is a serious near-term risk, but their stated purpose remains a long-term anchor.

Official mission statement

The official mission for First Guaranty Bank and First Guaranty Bancshares is two-fold, clearly linking financial performance to social contribution.

• Increase the shareholder value.
• Provide financial services for and contribute to the growth and welfare of the communities served.
• Change lives by teaching personal finance skills through financial wellness seminars.

To be fair, a net loss of $45.0 million in Q3 2025 makes the first point a challenge right now, but the second point-community welfare-is what guides their long-term strategy and their commitment to financial literacy.

Vision statement

While a single, formal vision statement isn't explicitly published, the company's long-term aspirations center on being a customer-centric, resilient community bank that drives local economic development.

• Maintain a customer-centric focus by providing service levels that exceed expectations.
• Foster economic development in core markets through relationship-driven banking.
• Strive to be a socially responsible corporate citizen by supporting community activities and encouraging employee involvement.
• Build banking excellence on core values like integrity, teamwork, and innovation.

They are defintely focused on resilience, having improved their risk-weighted capital ratio to 12.34% as of September 30, 2025, which shows a clear action toward their vision of stability. You can read more about their aspirational goals here: Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (FGBI).

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. slogan/tagline

The company uses several registered trademarks that function as taglines for its services, emphasizing its role in major life milestones.

• UNDERWRITING THE AMERICAN DREAM®
• WHERE LOANS CLICK®

The first one really speaks to their core purpose, positioning the bank as the financial foundation for major life and business goals. Their total assets were $3.8 billion at the end of Q3 2025, showing the scale of the capital they deploy to underwrite that dream.

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (FGBI) How It Works

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. operates as a traditional bank holding company, generating the bulk of its revenue by leveraging its deposit base to fund a diversified loan portfolio, primarily in the Southeast US market. The company makes money on the spread (Net Interest Margin) between the interest earned on its loans and the interest paid on deposits, though recent credit issues have significantly impacted its 2025 performance.

You're looking for a clear picture of how this bank delivers value, and honestly, it's a straightforward community banking model focused on relationship-driven service in its core markets. Their value creation is simple: gather deposits cheaply, lend them out at a higher rate, and offer essential financial services for a fee.

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc.'s Product/Service Portfolio

First Guaranty Bank, the core subsidiary, offers a full suite of commercial and retail banking services. They've built their business on a mix of local deposit gathering and a broad range of lending, which is typical for a regional institution.

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc.'s Operational Framework

The operational framework is centered on a community banking model with a regional footprint, which means local branch networks drive customer acquisition and relationship management. They currently operate 35 locations across Louisiana, Texas, Kentucky, and West Virginia, with a focus on southeastern Louisiana and parts of eastern Texas.

The bank's core process is classic financial intermediation (the process of converting deposits into loans), but the focus in 2025 has shifted to risk reduction. Here's the quick math on recent challenges: the bank recorded a massive $47.9 million provision for credit losses in Q3 2025, with $39.8 million of that tied to a single commercial lease relationship with an auto parts manufacturer that filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy. That's a sharp reminder that credit risk is the primary operational limit in banking.

• Deposit Gathering: Attract and retain core deposits-checking, savings, and money market accounts-to provide a stable, low-cost funding base for lending.
• Loan Origination & Servicing: Underwrite and fund commercial, residential, and consumer loans through the branch network and specialized lending groups.
• Risk Management: Proactively managing credit exposure, particularly reducing the concentration in commercial real estate secured loans, as noted in their 2025 strategy.
• Digital Integration: Offering online and mobile banking, cash management, and treasury services to keep pace with customer expectations and scale non-interest income.

You can see the capital impact of these issues clearly: the bank reported a net loss of $45.0 million for the third quarter of 2025, which included a $12.9 million non-cash goodwill impairment charge. That's defintely a tough quarter.

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc.'s Strategic Advantages

First Guaranty Bancshares' advantages stem from its long-standing presence and its strategic shift to fortify its balance sheet following recent credit events. They are playing defense right now, and that's the smart move.

• Deep Regional Roots: Founded in 1934, the bank has deep community ties, especially in Louisiana and Texas, which supports relationship-based lending and deposit stability.
• Strong Capital Position (Post-Loss): Despite the significant net loss, the bank's risk-weighted capital ratio improved to 12.34% as of September 30, 2025, up from 11.66% a year prior, showing a commitment to regulatory strength.
• Focused De-Risking Strategy: The management is actively executing a business strategy to reduce risk in the loan portfolio, including retaining a high reserve level against troubled commercial lease credits and reducing commercial real estate exposure.
• Stable Net Interest Income Base: Even with the credit provisions, the net interest income for the nine months ended September 30, 2025, was $66.7 million, showing the core business of lending and borrowing remains stable.

If you want to dig deeper into the shareholder base and who is betting on this turnaround, you should read Exploring First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (FGBI) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (FGBI) How It Makes Money

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. primarily generates revenue through the classic banking model: borrowing money from depositors at a lower rate and lending it out at a higher rate. This difference is called the net interest income (NII).

The company's financial engine is overwhelmingly dependent on this core lending activity, with a small but important contribution from non-interest activities like service charges and fees. To be clear, the bank makes money by managing the spread between the interest it earns on its loan portfolio and the interest it pays on deposits.

First Guaranty Bancshares' Revenue Breakdown

As a bank holding company, First Guaranty Bancshares' revenue is dominated by the spread on its interest-earning assets. For the third quarter of 2025, this revenue stream was nearly all of the total, a typical structure for a community-focused bank.

Here's the quick math: Q3 2025 Net Interest Income was approximately $22.2 million, compared to total revenue (net of interest expense) of $24.1 million. The remaining $1.9 million came from non-interest sources. While Net Interest Income for the nine months ended September 30, 2025, showed a slight increase year-over-year, the Q3 2025 figure was slightly down from $22.7 million in Q3 2024, signaling a decreasing trend in the immediate term.

Business Economics

The fundamental economics of First Guaranty Bancshares revolve around its Net Interest Margin (NIM) and its credit risk management. The NIM (Net Interest Margin) is the key profitability metric for banks; it's the percentage difference between the interest income generated and the amount of interest paid out to lenders and depositors.

The bank's NIM for Q3 2025 was 2.34%. This is a tight margin, and it was down 17 basis points from the same period a year prior, which is a clear headwind. This compression is a direct result of the bank's strategic pivot to reduce risk, shifting its asset mix toward lower-yielding, higher-liquidity assets, and a reduction in its loan portfolio.

• Core Pricing Strategy: Price loans (commercial real estate, commercial, and consumer) based on prevailing interest rate benchmarks plus a risk premium.
• Funding Cost: Manage the cost of funds, primarily through deposits, which stood at $3.4 billion at September 30, 2025.
• Credit Risk: The biggest economic factor is the cost of credit losses. The company had a massive $47.9 million provision for credit losses in Q3 2025, with $39.8 million tied to a single commercial lease relationship that declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. That's a huge, defintely unexpected hit to the model.
• Non-Interest Revenue: This small slice of revenue comes from service charges on deposit accounts, mortgage loan origination fees, and other transactional fees. It helps cover operating expenses but doesn't drive the profit engine.

The core business model is sound, but the execution has been severely impacted by concentrated credit risk materializing in 2025. You should be looking at Exploring First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (FGBI) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why? to understand the market's reaction to this risk.

First Guaranty Bancshares' Financial Performance

The financial performance for the nine months ended September 30, 2025, shows a business under significant stress, largely driven by the credit event and a non-cash accounting charge. The bank is currently in a de-risking phase, prioritizing capital preservation over near-term profitability.

• Net Loss: The company reported a net loss of $45.0 million for Q3 2025 and a net loss of $58.5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2025.
• Profitability Ratios: The Return on Average Assets (ROAA) plummeted to (4.61)% for Q3 2025, and Return on Average Common Equity (ROACE) fell to a staggering (78.41)%. These negative numbers reflect the impact of the large loss on the balance sheet.
• Goodwill Impairment: A non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $12.9 million was recognized in Q3 2025, triggered by the stock price trading below book value and the increased credit provisions, further depressing net income.
• Credit Quality: The Allowance for Credit Losses (ACL) as a percentage of total loans spiked to 3.76% at September 30, 2025, up significantly from 1.29% at the end of 2024, reflecting the massive reserve build-up for bad loans.
• Capital Strength: Despite the losses, the Risk-Weighted Capital Ratio improved to 12.34% at September 30, 2025, up from 11.66% a year prior, which is a positive sign that management's capital-raising and de-risking actions are preserving regulatory capital.

What this estimate hides is the one-time nature of the impairment and the concentration risk that materialized. The key action for management now is to successfully execute the disposition of non-core assets, like the $7.4 million land development project under contract for Q4 2025, to boost liquidity and capital.

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (FGBI) Market Position & Future Outlook

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. is currently in a challenging but decisive phase, strategically de-risking its balance sheet following a significant credit event, which has temporarily overshadowed its solid regional footprint in the US South-Central market. The outlook is heavily dependent on management's ability to execute its plan to shed problem assets and restore profitability after the substantial losses reported in 2025.

Competitive Landscape

In the regional banking space, First Guaranty Bancshares competes against institutions of varying sizes, primarily focusing on relationship-driven banking in Louisiana and Texas. To be fair, its market share is regional and fragmented, but when compared to peers in its asset class and operating region, its size is competitive.

Here's the quick math: Based on a combined total asset pool of approximately $8.91 billion across these three regional players as of September 30, 2025, First Guaranty Bancshares holds the largest asset base at $3.8 billion. Still, its peers, like Bank7, show better profitability metrics like a 5.07% net interest margin compared to First Guaranty Bancshares' 2.34% in Q3 2025. This means First Guaranty Bancshares is a larger player but is currently less efficient at generating income from its assets.

Opportunities & Challenges

The company's strategic focus for late 2025 and 2026 is clear: clean up the balance sheet and improve core earnings. This means near-term actions are centered on risk mitigation, which is defintely the right move.

The opportunity lies in the fact that the bank has already taken a massive hit, recording a $47.9 million provision for credit losses in Q3 2025, plus a $12.9 million goodwill impairment charge. This painful quarter clears the deck, allowing for a potential turnaround if the credit issues are truly contained. The expense reduction plans are also showing results; full-time equivalent employees dropped from 495 in June 2024 to 360 in June 2025, a reduction of over 27% [cite: 10 in previous step].

Industry Position

First Guaranty Bancshares is positioned as a smaller regional bank, headquartered in Hammond, Louisiana, with a multi-state footprint that includes Texas, Kentucky, and West Virginia. It operates in the 'Banks - Southeast' industry, which, as a sector, is generally considered to be in the top tier of Zacks industries [cite: 4 in previous step].

• Capital Preservation Focus: The bank's decision to reduce its quarterly cash dividend to $0.01 per common share is a clear signal of prioritizing capital over immediate shareholder payout, a necessary step to bolster its financial foundation.
• De-Risking Strategy: The ongoing reduction of commercial real estate secured loans and overall loan balances (down to $2.3 billion at September 30, 2025) is a deliberate move to reduce concentration risk, a key vulnerability exposed in 2025.
• Valuation Reality Check: The $12.9 million goodwill impairment charge was a direct result of the stock trading below its book value, an honest acknowledgment of the market's current, negative view on the company's asset quality and future earnings power.

To understand the full scope of the financial pain and the path forward, you need to look closely at the balance sheet and income statement dynamics. Breaking Down First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (FGBI) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors is a must-read. The path to a better industry standing hinges entirely on stabilizing net interest income and proving the reserve levels are sufficient to cover remaining problem assets.