Mar. 10--RALEIGH -- The new president of First Citizens BancShares says the bank is unlikely to exploit its financial strength by acquiring smaller rivals that are struggling.

That's just not part of the bank's culture, said Ed Willingham, who was recently promoted to president of the Raleigh-based company and its subsidiary, First Citizens Bank.

First Citizens has eschewed large acquisitions throughout its 111-year existence. Although it made a flurry of smaller acquisitions in the early 1990s, the bulk of its expansion has come the old-fashioned way -- entering new markets, and building branches, from scratch.

"We will look at all opportunities as they come up. [But] it's not likely we are going to take a different approach than what we have done in the past," Willingham said during an interview in his office overlooking the North Hills development at the bank's headquarters on Six Forks Road in North Raleigh.

Today, First Citizens Bank and a second subsidiary, IronStone Bank, have 400 branches. That's not dramatically different from 2002 -- a net increase of 17 branches after taking office closings into account. The bank hasn't made any acquisitions since 2003, when it acquired a community bank with a single office in Western North Carolina.

First Citizens posted $91.1 million in annual profit last year, down 16 percent from 2007 -- a creditable showing at a time when giants of the industry are posting huge losses. However, First Citizens' profit fell by half in the fourth quarter.

Willingham, 54, was named to succeed Frank Holding Jr. as president last month when Holding, the bank's CEO, took on the additional role of chairman upon the retirement of his uncle, Lewis R. Holding. The Holding family owns a majority of First Citizens' stock, making it one of the largest family-controlled banks in the country.

That stock has fallen 40 percent in the past year.

Willingham, who is not related to the Holding family, was previously executive vice president of the bank's central North Carolina region. When he joined First Citizens in 1987, he worked in corporate business development in Wake County -- attracting new business customers.

"You build referral networks. You make cold calls," Willingham said. "And you just get out there and hustle."

Willingham was born in Greenville but grew up in Columbus, Ga. His first job in the banking industry came during his college years; he worked as a teller in the summer at a Columbus bank.