Citizens National Bank to Open in New Orleans Region

NEW ORLEANS (press release) – Veteran banking executive James Hudson, who founded and led Omni Bank for 23 years, will open Citizens National Bank’s first south Louisiana branch this fall as its president of the New Orleans region.

Citizens National Bank is a 36-year old banking partner based in Bossier City with branches throughout Northwest Louisiana. The bank, with over $1.3 billion in assets, is led by President and CEO Jason D. Smith. The New Orleans region branch is expected to open this fall in Metairie. In the meantime, Hudson is assembling a staff to serve the area.

“We are excited to have Jim Hudson join our bank as market president and to add him to our management team. He is a highly respected professional in our industry with an impressive command of a community bank’s role in helping grow small and mid-sized businesses,” said Smith. “Jim has a long and stellar history in the New Orleans region where he mastered relationship banking and actively advanced business interests in South Louisiana. He is an asset to his community and our bank.”

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Since its founding, Citizens National Bank has been focused on helping small and medium sized businesses achieve their goals while working with business owners to realize their dreams. Also a leader in construction and development lending, Citizens has financed the construction of thousands of homes and millions of square feet of commercial real estate across Louisiana. Most recently, Citizens was recognized as a statewide leader in funding loans under the SBA Paycheck Protection Program.

Omni Bank was sold in October of 2015 to IberiaBank (now First Horizon). At the time of the sale, Hudson had grown the bank he founded to just under $1 billion in assets with branches throughout Metairie, the Northshore, the French Quarter, and the River Parishes. Upon selling Omni, Hudson was named Executive Vice President and Chairman of Southeast Region-Louisiana of Iberia Bank, and he helped the bank expand throughout the New Orleans market.

“The story of Citizens closely mirrors that of Omni. I admire the leadership of the bank and its mission to build a better community one relationship at a time. I know that business leaders will appreciate the personal attentiveness of Citizens, and I look forward to building a team of banking professionals who can accelerate the growth of those we serve,” said Hudson.

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