The bank was established in February 1985, with Rio Bank opening its doors as a retail oriented bank primarily catering to consumers for both deposit and loan business.[1]
In 1995, the bank opened its second banking center in North McAllen, Texas.[1] In 2002, the bank opened two new banking centers one in San Juan, Texas and the other in Palmview, Texas.[1] In 2005, the bank opened a new banking center in Brownsville, Texas and in 2009 opened a new banking center in Weslaco, Texas.[1]
In 2018, Rio Bank acquired Elsa State Bank & Trust. The merger increased Rio Bank's current $350 million in assets by an additional $200 million. The merger added locations that Rio Bank previously did not service, such as Starr County, Texas and Cameron County, Texas.[3]
In 2019, it complete its new corporate headquarters building and moved their operations to the new location.[4]
In April 2023, Rio Bank and the Texas Bankers Association sued the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and then-director Rohit Chopra over the agency's rule mandating that lenders collect and report demographic information on small business loans.[5]