Barbi joins elite group of bankers

Florian Barbi celebrated a half century in the banking industry with his induction this May into the Illinois Bankers Association 50 Year Club. Barbi currently serves as chairman of the board, president, and CEO of First Nations Bank and Bank of Bourbonnais. During his tenure, he has grown the banks’ assets from $19 million to approximately $600 million.

The banks have branches in Edison Park, Gladstone Park, Wheaton and Bourbonnais that focus on personal, commercial, real estate, construction and SBA lending. To those services, Barbi has added four wholly owned subsidiaries: Nations Title Co., First Nations Tax Deferred Exchange, Nations Wealth Management and Financial Services, and First Nations Trust Co.

Barbi immigrated to America from Italy as a child along with his parents, who established and then operated the Alpine Food Store in Elmwood Park for 48 years. He began his career at Capital Bank of Chicago, advancing to senior vice president, head of lending. He later joined First State Bank of Chicago as executive vice president, head of lending.

Barbi has been a board member of the Casa Italia, first vice president of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans and a member of the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America. He has received the Cardinal Joseph Bernardin Humanitarian Award from the JCCIA, the Leonardo da Vinci Award from OSDIA and the Man of the Year Award from the Italo-American Soccer Club “Maroons.”

Barbi served as treasurer of the Edison Park Chamber of Commerce for 10 years and as a board member of the Illinois Bankers Association for four years. He and his wife have three grown children and six grandchildren.