Feb. 26--RALEIGH -- Lewis R. Holding is stepping down as chairman of First Citizens BancShares and handing over one of the largest family-controlled banks in the U.S. to the next generation.

Holding, 81, joined the Raleigh bank in 1953 and oversaw its day-to-day operations from 1957 until his nephew, Frank Holding Jr., succeeded him as chief executive last year. The bank's board found out about his decision to retire in a Wednesday morning conference call and elected Frank Holding Jr. to take on the chairman's role.

First Citizens' employees, including about 1,500 in the Triangle, learned about the management changes by e-mail, said Barbara Thompson, the company's spokeswoman.

"It's an end of an era," said Tony Plath, finance professor at UNC-Charlotte. "Lewis Holding and his brother, Frank [Sr.], have been the guiding force behind First Citizens and the architects of the bank's strategy. But [Lewis Holding's retirement] has been expected for a while."

First Citizens, which operates about 400 branches in 17 states, has a reputation for steady performance and for treating its customers and employees well. Its specialty is commercial real estate lending. But with the real estate industry in crisis, First Citizens' loan portfolio has been holding up, Plath said.

The bank's 5 percent decline in profits in the third quarter was more than respectable when healthy banks are posting double-digit percentage declines.

Because of its conservative lending policies, the bank's nonperforming assets amounted to 0.53 percent of its loans as of Sept. 30, well below average for North Carolina banks of comparable size.

Under three generations of the Holding family, First Citizens has weathered several economic storms in the past 91 years, said Thad Woodard, president of the N.C. Bankers Association.

"Things have always been solid as an oak," Woodard said. "I would expect no dramatic change. But as much as First Citizens is steeped in tradition, it is also attuned to what is ahead."

Frank Holding Jr., 47, credited his uncle with positioning First Citizens for a strong future. "It is a tribute to his 52-year leadership that BancShares is the stable, successful corporation it is today," he said in a prepared statement.

The bank was founded in 1898. R.P. Holding, the father of Frank Sr. and Lewis, joined the bank in 1918. Lewis Holding, a Smithfield native, was 29 when he became CEO. He was elected chairman in 1979.

During Lewis Holding's tenure, First Citizens' subsidiaries expanded from a North Carolina regional bank to financial services companies with 4,700 employees nationwide. In 2003, Lewis Holding was inducted into the N.C. Business Hall of Fame.

Lewis Holding has been committed to philanthropy and the arts throughout his career. He founded the N.C. Community Foundation, which today is one of the state's largest donor-advised foundations.

His brother, Frank Sr., remains on the company's executive team. The third generation of Holdings at the helm of First Citizens also includes Hope Holding Connell, Frank Holding Jr.'s sister, who is president of IronStone Bank and First Citizens Bank business services manager.

sabine.vollmer@ newsobserver.com or 919-829-8992

-----

To see more of The News & Observer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.newsobserver.com.

Copyright (c) 2009, The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

NASDAQ-NMS:FCNCA, OtherOTC:BSHS, OTC-PINK:FCIS,

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.