In 1921 a small group of citizens gathered to discuss the prospects of obtaining a charter for a national bank to be headquartered in the town of Newfield, New Jersey. In April 1922, their application was approved and with $25,000 in capital, The First National Bank of Newfield opened for business. The bank was originally located in "the two front rooms" of a local house until a proper bank building was constructed at the corner of West Boulevard & Salem Avenue. Like many small-town banks, when the Roaring Twenties gave way to the Great Depression, they were overrun by depositor withdrawals and appointed a conservator in 1933.
The Newfield National Bank that exists today traces its roots back to 1934 when local organizers obtained a new bank charter and acquired the remnants of the town's previous institution. Rising like a phoenix from the ashes, The First National Bank in Newfield began business in August of 1934 with 1 branch and $50,000 in capital. Today, over 90 years later, we have grown to 11 branches with nearly $1 billion in assets. We proudly remain locally owned and operated.
While our success can primarily be attributed to generations of loyal clients, we have also benefitted from the guidance of conservative, stable leadership over the years. In fact, since 1934 we have only had five bank Presidents: Walter R. Lewis (1934-1935), Raymond K. Lowder (1935-1949), Ralph Rambone (1949-1974), John Borelli, Sr. (1974-1999) and John Borelli, Jr. (1999-present). In addition to long standing Directors and active Senior Management, our story is that of dedicated employees, both past and present, who have helped make Newfield National Bank into one of Southern New Jersey's foremost financial institutions. One of several such examples would be Ann Buckbery who started with the bank in 1934 and, in an era when it was uncommon for women to hold Executive positions, was appointed to the title of Cashier in 1941. In 1944, she joined the Board of Directors until her retirement in 1951.
Our story is also that of prudent, steady growth to meet the banking needs of our clients throughout Southern New Jersey. Our original main office location was the former bank’s building at West Boulevard and Salem Avenue in Newfield. In 1969, with the bank's assets totaling $9.7 million, we opened our first branch in Malaga and relocated the main office to our current location at 18 S. West Boulevard. In 1974, we opened a third branch at 6th & Landis in Vineland (relocated to the opposite corner in 1999). We opened our Star Cross branch in 1979 and closed out the 1970's at $37 million in assets.
Our Main Road branch in Vineland opened in 1982 and we ended the decade with bank assets at $102 million. The 90's was a busy decade for us with the opening of several new branch locations, the formation of our holding company (Newfield Bancorp, Inc.), a new logo and our name change from The First National Bank in Newfield-to-Newfield National Bank. In 1991, we added our Little Mill Road branch in Franklinville and our former branch at The Cumberland Mall (where the Applebee's now sits). In 1995, we opened a branch in East Vineland (which was relocated in 2017 for an even better East Vineland presence). In 1996, our Loan Center in Newfield was built to centralize our lending and support staff. Our Williamstown branch opened in 1997 and in 1999 we added our Sewell branch (which was relocated to Pitman in 2018). As we ended 1999 and entered a new millennium, all our expansion activity resulted in bank assets reaching $297 million.
The early 2000’s saw the opening of our Hopewell Township (Cumberland County) branch in 2001 and our Washington Township branch in 2006. Our most recent expansion was the addition of a loan production office in Marlton, NJ to better support our lending activities in Camden and Burlington Counties.
It has been said that the longevity of a company's employees speaks volumes about their corporate culture. As many of our key personnel have been with us 25 years or more, your daily banking needs are being met by a staff of seasoned professionals. When you need financing to expand your business, remodel your home or purchase a new one, you will work directly with an experienced, locally based loan officer- not someone located in an out-of-state call center. If you are looking for a community bank that is big enough to support your company's growth yet small enough to give you one on one attention, Newfield National Bank is here for you. We are banking at its best.