The Central Carolina Bank & Trust Company traces its roots to a 1903 charter for the Durham Loan and Trust Company, which focused mainly on insurance and real estate. Its first president was John Sprunt Hill, and its directors included such prominent Durham businessmen as George W. Watts, Benjamin N. Duke, and James S. Manning. A banking department was added in 1915. In 1937 the company became the Durham Bank & Trust Company and moved into a new building on Corcoran Street, which it has continued to occupy. The company grew through mergers and acquisitions, changing its name in 1961 to the Central Carolina Bank & Trust Company (CCB).
CCB's growth continued primarily through new acquisitions. In 1993 alone, CCB acquired the ten offices of Greensboro's First Home Federal, Graham Savings Bank, and Mutual Savings Bank and Citizens Savings, both in Lenoir. In 2000 Memphis-based National Commerce Bancorporation (with about 400 offices in nine states) acquired CCB Financial Corporation (with more than 200 offices), combining the institutions into a $15 billion enterprise. Memphis became the headquarters for the combined companies under the banner of National Commerce Bancorporation, and Durham remained CCB operations headquarters.