A new bank employing 7 to 10 people will soon open in Athens.

First National Bank will begin business in mid-April at the corner of Lindsay Lane and U.S. 72 East. A new $4 million bank building will be built at the intersection in 12 to 15 months.

“First National Bank is proud to announce our expansion into the Limestone County area with a dynamic team of banking professionals,” said Mark Hayes, president and chief executive officer of First National.

Jeff Hodges and Steve Smith, Limestone County executives, lead the team.

Other members joining the Athens staff are Andy Whitt, vice president and commercial lender; Grover Sanders, vice president and loan officer; Monica Nelson, assistant vice president and loan officer; Jan Price, administrative assistant; and Cecelia Hargrove, the mortgage-loan originator for the North Alabama area.

“Right now we are operating out of the Ardmore, Tenn., office,” Hodges said. “Our plan is to open in Athens in 30 to 45 days.”

Until the new bank building is built, First National will operate temporarily from an existing building once used as a used-car lot.

First National, with headquarters in Pulaski, Tenn., has branches in Giles, Lincoln and Marshall counties in southern Tennessee and in Ardmore and Huntsville.

“First National has been wanting to expand into Limestone County for quite some time,” Hodges said. “The bank made a commitment in late 2007 to do that.”

First National has been a locally owned, community bank that is celebrating its 70th year in business this year.

“We are very excited about being in Athens,” he said. “We hope to carry on the same banking tradition with the same approach and familiar faces that have existed at this bank over the past 70 years.”

Hayes said the move to Athens expands the footprint of First National into Limestone County, offering service into a larger part of the Tennessee Valley.

“First National Bank remains committed to the flexibility that local decisions can offer as well as dedication to the communities we serve,” Hayes said. “We are a local bank, with local bankers serving local people.”