First Citizens Bank will begin offering Saturday hours at three of its 14 local branches this summer.

“We’ve heard from our clients that they wished we had Saturday hours,” said Ben Woodruff, Cape Fear area executive in an interview on Monday.

Starting Aug. 14, the bank’s Wilmington main office at 440 S. College Road, and Plaza East office at 1910 Eastwood Road, will open for business Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Then, beginning Sept. 11, First Citizens Porter’s Neck office at 8219 Market St., will begin offering banking services Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The launch date for the Porter’s Neck branch corresponds with development activity in the area including a new Lowes Home Improvement, Woodruff said.

The three branches opening on Saturdays are some of the bank’s higher-volume local branches. He said the bank’s other branches are not currently slated for new hours.

The new Saturday hours at these three branches are in addition to their normal weekday hours of operation.

First Citizens is the third largest bank in the region as ranked by in-market deposits in the Business Journal’s 2010 Book of Lists. The bank has a 10 percent market share and about 115 local employees.