WHEELING — Main Street Bank will start trading on the over-the-counter market today, right after celebrating its 18th anniversary on West Virginia Day.

The Wheeling-based bank’s stock will now be traded on the Over The Counter, or OTC, Pink marketplace under the ticker symbol MSWV.

Over-the-counter markets are used by companies that aren’t part of the New York Stock Exchange, and the bank will remain a private company, said Rich Lucas, president and CEO of Main Street Bank.

“We have enough volume now and enough shares that we’ve been invited to join that market,” Lucas said. “It’ll take a few weeks for the market to build, but then our shareholders or potential shareholders, folks who want to buy or sell, will be able to get online and trade.”

The listing on the OTC Pink marketplace will bring “much-needed visibility and increased liquidity” to the stock of the bank’s parent company, Main Street Financial Services Corp., according to a press release.

“For our shareholders, the main thing it creates is liquidity,” Lucas said. “If you want to move some or you want to buy some, then you don’t have to call the bank or your stockbroker and they have to fish around for it. You’ll have the one centralized location that you go to to complete your task.”

That central location where people can trade the bank’s stock will be Janney.com, through the financial services firm Janney Montgomery Scott, Lucas said.

“For future growth, it’s a great first step,” he said. “We have 3.5 million shares out. In the big world that’s very small, but for Main Street Bank it’s a great number.”

The bank also celebrated its 18th anniversary Thursday with an “All American Cookout” with employees and shareholders at its downtown Wheeling location.

“We decided to have West Virginia Day as our opening date so that we can honor and celebrate our anniversary along with our great state,” Luas said, crediting former Chief Operating Officer Becky Randolph for the idea of picking the date.

Lucas expected most of the company’s 70 employees and about 100 shareholders would stop by for the cookout.

“It’s just become a really nice tradition. Over the years it’s kind of grown,” Lucas said. “We just kind of want to keep that going. Our shareholders all kind of know each other. We’re still a private company, we’re locally owned and 95 percent of our shareholders live within 10 miles of the bank.”

The company announced a dividend of 36 cents per share in April, an increase of 12.5 percent from the prior year and the seventh consecutive year of increases in the dividend, according to the press release.

In addition, total assets for Main Street Financial Services reached $454 million at the end of 2018, compared to $441 million in 2017. Total loans, deposits and equity increased in that time frame as well, according to numbers from the bank.

“We always enjoy getting together with shareholders, employees and friends of the bank, and since our first year of operations have celebrated our anniversary with a great picnic and friendly atmosphere,” said Cheri DeBlasis, senior vice president and member of the bank’s board of directors.