About Us

Founded in 1908 as First State Bank, Happy, Texas, the bank operated solely in that community during its first 81 years. In 1990, J. Pat Hickman led a group of investors in forming Happy Bancshares, Inc. as they purchased the bank. The generically named First State Bank changed its name to the unforgettable Happy State Bank in 2004. In 1990, the bank had six employees overseeing just over $10 million in total assets. Today, Happy State Bank, a division of Centennial Bank has over 60 locations in more than 40 communities across the Texas. In 2022, Happy Bancshares, Inc. was acquired by Home Bancshares, Inc. with Happy State Bank becoming a division of Centennial Bank. This merger allowed Happy to expand product and service lines for our customers while combining total assets to reach just shy of $25 billion. Based on employee feedback, American Banker named Happy State Bank, a division of Centennial Bank one of the Best Banks to Work For in the USA the last seven years in a row.

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