In 1881, Henry Ley, Sr. and his family moved from, Jordan, Minnesota to Wayne, Nebraska where he opened a general store, which he named The German Store, housed in a two-story brick building on the northeast corner of Third and Main Streets.

In 1892, Henry applied for a bank charter.  The charter was approved for The State Bank of Wayne.  The bank opened for business on the southwest corner of Second and Main Streets and operated at the same location until January 2, 1986, when the bank building was completely destroyed by fire.  Although the fire had a devastating effect on the physical premises of the bank, the event created a strong employee and community bond.

In 1929, Rollie W. Ley, the son of Henry Ley and President of the bank at that time, applied to the Comptroller of the Currency for a National charter.  The application was approved and The State Bank was converted into The State Nebraska Bank on January 6, 1930.

In the early hours of January 2, 1986, the bank building was completely destroyed by fire.  Although the fire had a devastating effect on the physical premises of the bank, the event created a strong employee and community bond.

In 1967, Henry E. Ley, the son of Rollie Ley, the grandson of Henry Ley, Sr. and President of the bank at that time, applied for Trust Powers which were granted on December 29, 1967.  The name was then changed to State National Bank and Trust Company.

In 1970, David Ley, the great grandson of Henry Ley, joined the bank making it a fourth generation family-owned bank.  He continues to be the Chairman of the Board at this time.

In November of 2006, the bank moved back into a facility at the original Second and Main location, designed by architect Roy Ley, great-great-grandson of Henry Ley, Sr.

In 2010, Matthew Ley, the great-great-grandson of Henry Ley, joined the bank as its CEO, making it a fifth-generation family-owned bank.

In 2014, the bank converted its charter from a national bank to a state bank and became State Nebraska Bank & Trust.