First Bancorp, the parent company of First Bank, reported that it has completed the purchase of the Bank of the Carolinas branch in Carthage.

The branch opened for business as a branch of First Bank on Tuesday, Sept. 5.

The agreement to purchase this branch was announced April 26.

First Bank now has eleven branches serving Moore County.

"I'm delighted to welcome you to First Bank," said James H. Garner, president and CEO of First Bancorp, addressing the customers of the Carthage branch. "Your records have been successfully converted, and we're very pleased to be your new bank. You'll be served by the same friendly staff that served you so well as employees of Bank of the Carolinas."

Jerry L. Ocheltree, president of First Bank, told the employees of the Carthage branch, "It has been a pleasure to get to know you over the past several months. I would like to thank you again for your hard work in ensuring a smooth transition. We have a bright future together in making First Bank the best community bank possible."

Garner added, "I am very happy to be expanding our presence in Moore County. It is our largest market, and the citizens have been so good to us. We are pleased that First Bank now has a total of eleven locations throughout Moore County available for the convenience of our customers."

First Bancorp is a bank holding company based in Troy, with total assets of $2 billion.

Its principal activity is the ownership and operation of First Bank, a state-chartered community bank that operates 64 branch offices, with 57 branches operating in a 19-county market area in the central Piedmont region of North Carolina, three branches in Dillon County, S.C., and four branches in Virginia (Abingdon, Dublin, Radford and Wythe-ville), where First Bank does business as First Bank of Virginia.

The company also has loan production offices in Wilming-ton, N.C., and Blacksburg, Va.