City National Bank of WV Routing Number: West Virginia

Not the City National you are thinking of

There are two City National Banks in America, and they could not be more different. City National Bank of Los Angeles - now owned by Royal Bank of Canada - is a $90 billion entertainment industry bank serving Hollywood studios and Beverly Hills wealth managers. City National Bank of West Virginia is a $5 billion community bank serving coal miners, chemical plant workers, and small business owners across the Appalachian Mountains. They share a name and nothing else.

City National Bank of West Virginia was chartered in 1956 in Charleston, the state capital, and has grown into the largest bank headquartered in West Virginia. It operates approximately 90 branches across West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, and Ohio, with a concentration in the Kanawha Valley, the coal-producing counties of southern West Virginia, and the eastern panhandle near the Washington, DC suburbs.

Banking through the long decline of coal

West Virginia produced over 170 million tons of coal in 2008. By 2023, that figure had fallen below 80 million tons. The decline of coal - driven by cheap natural gas, environmental regulation, and the growth of renewable energy - has reshaped every aspect of the state's economy. Towns that once thrived on mining payrolls have shrunk. Young people have left for Charlotte, Columbus, or Northern Virginia. The population of West Virginia has declined in every census since 1950.

For City National Bank, this economic backdrop means that growth requires constant adaptation. The bank has expanded into more economically diverse markets - the eastern panhandle communities of Martinsburg and Charles Town, which benefit from proximity to the DC metro area - while maintaining its presence in the coal counties where it has been the primary banking institution for decades. Routing number 051501361, with its 051 prefix from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, connects these disparate communities through a single financial institution.

Appalachian economic resilience

Despite the coal narrative, southern West Virginia has not simply disappeared. The chemical industry in the Kanawha Valley - centered on companies like Dow and Chemours - provides manufacturing jobs that partially offset mining losses. Tourism in the New River Gorge, which became a National Park in 2020, has brought new economic activity to Fayette County. And the healthcare sector, anchored by Charleston Area Medical Center, is the largest employer in the Charleston metro.

City National Bank has positioned itself as the financial institution that understands these transition economics. The bank provides SBA lending to small businesses attempting to diversify beyond coal, commercial real estate financing for new tourism infrastructure, and personal banking for families navigating generational economic change. It is the kind of deep community knowledge that a national bank entering the market could not replicate.

Transfer details for routing number 051501361

All City National Bank of West Virginia accounts use routing number 051501361 for ACH payments, direct deposits, and domestic wire transfers. This routing number applies across all branch locations in West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, and Ohio. For wire transfers, the bank recommends contacting your local branch for specific beneficiary instructions, particularly for international wires where correspondent bank details may be required.

City National's online banking platform displays your routing and account numbers under the account details section. On checks, the routing number appears in the standard bottom-left position.

Serving communities that others write off

City National Bank has stayed in West Virginia through decades of economic contraction, betting on the resilience of communities that national headlines consistently underestimate. Slash was built with a similar belief - that every business, regardless of size or geography, deserves access to sophisticated financial tools. Corporate cards, automated expense management, and real-time spend analytics should not be luxuries reserved for companies in major metros.

For businesses building in Appalachia and beyond, Slash offers the modern financial infrastructure that matches the ambition.