22 minute read
News & Moves
Marnie Oldner
CEO
Marnie Oldner has been appointed by FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams to the regulator’s Advisory committee on Community Banking. The committee provides advice and recommendations to the FDIC on a broad range of policy issues that have a particular impact on community banks throughout the U.S.
Oldner is the CEO and Director of Stone Bank and EVP and a Director of the Stone Bancshares holding company. She has been on staff with the Bank since July 1, 2011 serving as its CEO, CFO, and President during that time. She previously spent seven years working with banks across the state as a managing principal at DD&F Consulting. Prior to joining DD&F, Oldner had 16 years of experience in banking including serving as Chief Financial Officer for a $1.4 billion bank holding company and its five subsidiary banks.
ADAM MITCHELL
TAKES OVER CEO REINS AT CITIZENS BANK EARLY
Adam Mitchell
CEO
Citizens Bank, headquartered in Batesville, has appointed Adam Mitchell as its CEO, succeeding outgoing CEO Phil Baldwin. Baldwin’s retirement, originally announced for mid-year, has been shortened due to the successful completion of a planned transition earlier than expected.
“When I announced my retirement in August of last year, my original plan was to stay on through June of this year,” said Baldwin. “These last few months have proven to me that Adam and the dynamic leadership team at Citizens Bank are completely prepared for the future. I’ve decided to take my retirement three months early and enjoy every minute with my family.”
Mitchell has been working alongside Baldwin since 2018. With 23 years of experience in the banking industry, Mitchell came from Simmons Bank where he served as executive vice president and chief retail officer responsible for overseeing branch performance, staffing and service, and sales delivery for more than 190 locations across seven states. He was also responsible for the treasury management sales team throughout the Simmons Bank system.
“Adam has been an instrumental leader, especially during the pandemic, mobilizing the bank to quickly facilitate PPP loans and thoughtfully serve small businesses across Arkansas,” said Jeff Teague, board chairman of Citizens Bancshares. “He will continue to uphold our mission-driven, community-centric core values.”
Mitchell is an advisory board member of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and, together with his wife, Kristie, was honored with its Living & Giving Award in 2017 and served as co-chair of the Central Arkansas Heart Ball in 2014. Mitchell also currently serves as a board member for USAble Life Corporation and Arkansas Health Group. He has also held various roles with Hendrix College, the Arkansas Bankers Association, Baptist Health Foundation, and Junior Achievement of Arkansas. “THESE LAST FEW MONTHS HAVE PROVEN TO ME THAT ADAM AND THE DYNAMIC LEADERSHIP TEAM AT CITIZENS BANK ARE COMPLETELY PREPARED FOR THE FUTURE. I’VE DECIDED TO TAKE MY RETIREMENT THREE MONTHS EARLY AND ENJOY EVERY MINUTE WITH MY FAMILY.”
FNBC
EXPANDS IN JONESBORO
FNBC, based in Sharp County since 1912, opened a major Jonesboro facility in May.
The 5,800 square-foot building at the intersection of Race Street and Fair Park Boulevard will be the fulcrum of FNBC’s operations in Northeast Arkansas which total $62 million in assets since it entered the Jonesboro market three years ago, FNBC CEO Marty Sellars said.
Those assets include $59.5 million in total loans, and $21.6 million in deposits. The facility will employ seven workers. Brad Snider is the president of the Jonesboro branch.
Snider, who has worked in the banking industry for 30 years, said his team plans to be aggressive in a competitive market. One option customers will have at the new bank will include an interactive teller machine, or ITM.
ITMs, sometimes called a ‘branch in a box’, allow a customer to interact with bank employees through a traditional ATM. It will allow customers to utilize bank services during extended hours, Snider said.
The latest branch is the 11th in the FNBC chain. The bank, with more than $600 million in assets, stretches from Baxter County to the west and Batesville to the south. Its furthest branch north is in Mammoth Springs along the Arkansas/ Missouri border. It has $391.5 million in loans and $460.8 million in total deposits, according to figures released by the bank.
Heather Albright
President
HEATHER ALBRIGHT
TO LEAD BANK OF AMERICA IN ARKANSAS
Bank of America named Heather Albright as President of Bank of America Arkansas. She succeeds Donnie Cook who has led the market for the past 16 years and recently announced his retirement in March.
As president, Albright will be responsible for connecting the banking and investment resources offered through BoA’s eight lines of business to clients across Arkansas. She will also lead the effort to deploy Bank of America’s resources to address social concerns, strengthen economic opportunity, and build strong communities, as well as support the health, safety and engagement of local co-workers, the bank said.
With 16 years of experience at Bank of America, Albright will continue in her role as Global Commercial Banking senior vice president and senior relationship manager, supporting middle market clients. Since 2018, she has served as the market’s integration executive responsible for business integration efforts.
“During his 16-year tenure as market president and more than 49 distinguished years with our company, Donnie built and nurtured valuable relationships with influencers and clients that made a lasting imprint on our company and throughout the market,” said Brian Moynihan, chief executive officer, Bank of America. “I thank him for his leadership and look forward to Heather continuing this important work.”
A native of Arkansas, Albright is an active member in the community and serves on the board of Economics Arkansas and also volunteers with several local organizations including Junior Achievement of Arkansas, Arkansas Foodbank, and Our House.
She is active with the Bank of America Leadership, Education, Advocacy and Development (LEAD) for Women and co-leads the Little Rock Power of 10 group.
Jeffrey Freiert
Senior Vice President, Commercial Lender
CITIZENS BANK
PROMOTES JEFFREY FREIERT TO SVP, COMMERCIAL LENDER
Citizens Bank promoted Jeffrey Freiert to Senior Vice President, Commercial Lender. Freiert is a lifelong Batesville resident and has been part of Citizens Bank for 17 years. He played an integral role by spearheading the coordination of PPP loans for local businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Freiert received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of
First Community Bank added seasoned bankers, Jennifer Shelton and Cherryn Howard, to its mortgage lending team at the Saddle Creek branch located in Little Rock.
Shelton has been hired as a mortgage loan originator. With her vast experience and extensive background in mortgage lending, she will educate, advise, and guide potential borrowers through the loan application process.
Howard has been hired as a secondary mortgage processor. In her role, Howard will focus on processing mortgage, conventional, FHA, USDA, and VA loans.
Gene Crawford is joining First Community Bank as senior vice president, director of non-interest services. With nearly 40 years of lending experience, he will be responsible for overseeing management of First Community Bank’s mortgage and trust departments as well as Community Insurance Professionals and First Community Financial Services.
Crawford is an active member in his community and serves on the board of Arkansas, obtained a graduate degree from the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University, and is a graduate of Barret School of Banking. He is a graduate of Leadership Arkansas Class XIV, has served as a board member with the Old Independence Regional Museum and as an elder with First Presbyterian Church of Batesville. Freiert and his wife, Jesse, have two daughters.
directors of White River Health Systems Foundation, Family Violence Prevention, and the Poke Bayou Foundation. He is an active member of the Batesville Rotary Club, he serves on the Lyon College President’s Council, and he has previously served on the Arkansas Bankers Association Board of Directors. He is also an ordained priest of the Episcopal Church.
In Cabot, First Community Bank added Donald Boone and Gayla Calhoun, to its commercial lending team.
Boone has been hired as vice president, commercial lending for the Cabot region. With 15 years of lending experience, he will be responsible for producing a variety of commercial loans as well as generating and managing a portfolio of business relationships.
Calhoun has been hired as loan support assistant for the Cabot region. She has been in banking for 25 years and has served as a loan assistant for 16 years. In her new role, Calhoun will focus on servicing of the bank’s loan portfolio as well as related customer support activities.
Jennifer Shelton
Mortgage Loan Originator Cherryn Howard
Secondary Mortgage Processor Gene Crawford
Senior Vice President, Director Of NonInterest Services
FIRST COMMUNITY BANK
HIRES THROUGHOUT ITS FOOTPRINT
Donald Boone
Vice President, Commercial Lending Gayla Calhoun
Loan Support Assistant
SIMMONS FIRST NATIONAL CORP.
SHUFFLES SENIOR MANAGEMENT, PROMOTES STAFF
Pine Bluff-based Simmons First National Corp. announced changes to certain senior leadership roles. The following changes were effective as of April 26, 2021:
Bob Fehlman has been named president and chief operating officer of Simmons First National Corporation and Simmons Bank. In these roles, he will continue to report to George A. Makris, Jr., Simmons’ chairman and CEO.
Fehlman joined Simmons more than 30 years ago and most recently served as senior executive vice president, chief financial officer, chief operating officer and treasurer with responsibility for the overall financial management and operations of the company. Areas under his supervision included accounting, financial planning, investments, tax, bank operations, IT, risk and legal. He also provided critical support for merger and acquisition activity, analyst and investor meetings and leading the company’s capital management.
Succeeding Fehlman as executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer is Jay Brogdon. Prior to joining Simmons, Brogdon worked at Stephens Inc. from 2008-2021 where he most recently served as managing director in the investment banking division. In this role, Brogdon advised community banks and financial services companies primarily located throughout Simmons’ footprint. Prior to joining Stephens, he served four years in audit and enterprise risk services at Deloitte. In his new role, he will report to Bob Fehlman.
“The changes announced today are a direct result of the success and growth we have experienced at Simmons over the past several years and reflects our need to continue to add depth and bench strength to our senior management team as we look to execute our key strategic priorities designed to grow our franchise,” said George A. Makris, Jr., chairman and CEO of Simmons.
Additional changes include the promotion of Steve Massanelli to senior executive vice president and chief administrative officer of the company and Simmons Bank. Massanelli joined Simmons in 2014 as chief administrative officer and in 2018 added the responsibility of investor relations officer. Massanelli will continue to have responsibility for a wide array of day-to-day duties including mergers and acquisitions due diligence and integration, corporate real estate services, corporate security, records management and corporate insurance.
Simmons also announced Sabrina McDonnell as executive vice president, chief customer experience officer. In this role, McDonnell will oversee marketing and brand experience, product development and private client departments with responsibility for developing initiatives to stimulate growth in market share and customer relationships. McDonnell has 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, having previously served as executive vice president, chief administrative officer for Landmark Bank. Her previous experience also includes serving as president and chief operating officer, and senior vice president, retail banking at First National Bank & Trust.
Ed Bilek has also joined the company as executive vice president, director of investor relations. Bilek has more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, most recently serving as director of investor relations and corporate insurance at BBVA USA. Prior to that he served in a variety of capacities, including head of U.S. shareholder relations for BBVA and director of investor relations for BBVA USA, and director of external communications. His previous experience also includes serving as director of investor relations at Compass Bancshares, Inc. and as manager of SEC, regulatory and shareholder reporting at KeyCorp, Inc. Lisa Hunter
Executive Vice President, Chief Data Officer
Rodney Hawkins was named as executive vice president and audit executive at Simmons Bank. Hawkins’ responsibilities include playing a lead role in the oversight, administration and implementation for Simmons Bank’s risk-based Internal Audit function. His role will also include providing leadership and guidance to the Simmons Bank Internal Audit Department in their review, monitoring and evaluation of the bank’s financial, operational, and compliance internal controls.
Prior to joining Simmons Bank, Hawkins, a CPA, served as chief compliance officer and vice president of Internal Audit at Windstream Communications and was responsible for all aspects of compliance and Internal Audit functions, including establishing strategy, creating and overseeing policies, procedures and audit methodology, and designing the risk management process. He previously served as vice president of Internal Audit at Time Warner Inc., overseeing audit strategy, quality assurance, risk assessment, audit plan creation and reporting.
Simmons Bank named Lisa Hunter as the executive vice president and new chief data officer of the Data Office, a new business unit for the financial institution. The unit will govern and standardize the bank’s data while promoting collaboration and strong data competencies as well as allow Simmons to continuously improve the customer experience with our products and services across the footprint.
With more than 20 years of experience at Simmons Bank, Hunter has led teams across numerous areas of the bank – including Operations, Information Technology (IT), Accounting and Retail. She most recently served as executive vice president of operations for Simmons Bank, where she managed all aspects of bank operations, including deposit, digital and loan functions.
Bret Cook
Vice President of Lending
BRET COOK
JOINS COMMUNITY NATIONAL BANK
Bret Cook has joined First National Bank at Paris / Community National Bank of Booneville as Vice President of Lending. Cook, a Booneville native, will be employed at the Booneville location of Community National Bank.
Prior to joining Community National Bank, Cook was employed by Arcbest as a Credit Analyst. He is a graduate of Arkansas Tech University in Russellville where he attained a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree in both Economics and Finance and Management and Marketing.
FARMERS BANK & TRUST
TO ACQUIRE COMMUNITY FIRST TRUST CO.
Farmers Bank & Trust of Magnolia and Community First Trust Co. of Hot Springs announced they have entered into an agreement for Farmers Bank & Trust to purchase the stock of Community First Trust Company. Community First Trust will continue to be operated as an independent trust company.
“Farmers Bank & Trust is excited about the opportunity to expand our trust and wealth management services through Community First Trust Co.,” said Farmers Bank & Trust Chief Executive Officer Chris Gosnell. “Trust customers of Farmers Bank and Community First Trust will all benefit from the combined resources of both companies.”
“The culture of Farmers Bank & Trust is what really attracted us to the idea of joining the bank. The bank’s commitment to its customers, technology, and staff supports the long-term relationships we have enjoyed at CFT. We look forward to working as part of the team to provide personal trust services and wealth management,” said Bill Kerst, Community First Trust President & Chief Executive Officer.
Farmers Bank & Trust is owned by a privately held holding company, Magnolia Banking Corp. Community First Trust Co. is the only independent trust company chartered in Arkansas. Community First Trust has approximately $340 million trust assets under management. “THE CULTURE OF FARMERS BANK & TRUST IS WHAT REALLY ATTRACTED US TO THE IDEA OF JOINING THE BANK. THE BANK’S COMMITMENT TO ITS CUSTOMERS, TECHNOLOGY, AND STAFF SUPPORTS THE LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPS WE HAVE ENJOYED AT CFT.”
KRISSI LONG
PROMOTED TO SECONDARY MARKET LOAN OFFICER AT GRAND SAVINGS BANK
Grand Savings Bank announced the promotion of Krissi Long to secondary market loan officer. Long has worked with GSB since October of 2019. She previously held the role of secondary market processor with GSB.
Long, who is from Rogers and attended Rogers High School, is highly involved in her community. She works extensively with the Bentonville non-profit Horses for Healing, a therapeutic riding program for children with special needs. She is a certified riding instructor and horse trainer and served on the board of directors for the Northwest Arkansas Hunter Jumper Association. Krissi Long
Secondary Market Loan Officer
Paul Lowe
Metro Division President
David Stogsdill
Market President
SIMMONS BANK
PROMOTES PAUL LOWE TO OVERSEE LITTLE ROCK, MEMPHIS AND NASHVILLE METROS
Pine Bluff-based Simmons Bank has promoted Paul Lowe as the metro division president for Little Rock, Memphis and Nashville.
“Paul experienced great success leading and growing the central Arkansas division into the top performing division for Simmons Bank,” said Chad Rawls, Simmons Bank chief metro bank officer. “We are excited to have Paul take the helm of our Arkansas and Tennessee metro markets to deepen our existing relationships and pursue growth.”
With 20 years of experience in corporate and real estate banking at various institutions, Lowe previously led Simmons Bank’s Central Arkansas Division as market president. Prior to joining the Simmons Bank team in 2019, Lowe served as executive vice president and president of Corporate Banking at Bear State Bank, driving corporate strategy and middle market sales.
Lowe is a graduate of Ouachita Baptist University and has served as an advisory board member for the Hickingbotham School of Business for more than 15 years. Lowe is also a graduate of the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University and an alumnus of the Leadership Greater Little Rock Class XXIII.
Succeeding Lowe, David Stogsdill has been promoted as the Central Arkansas market president and will lead market strategy, community affairs and guide retail and business line partnerships.
Stogsdill most recently served as the senior vice president of corporate banking for Regions Bank before joining Simmons Bank in 2018.
“Over the last three years, David has worked closely with associates and our customers to deepen our relationships in the business sector,” said Lowe. “We look forward to David taking the lead as we continue to grow in the Central Arkansas market.”
ARVEST BANK
SELECTED FOR FED PILOT PROGRAM
The Federal Reserve Bank has selected Fayettevillechartered Arvest Bank to participate in a pilot program for a new real-time payments system.
FedNow is a new instant payment service that will enable financial institutions of all sizes to provide safe, efficient payment services in real-time. The goal is to give customers greater flexibility in managing their funds and to make time-sensitive payments more conveniently.
Arvest is one of more than 100 banks, credit unions and payments technology providers in the program. They will support development, testing and adoption of the FedNow service, and encourage development of services and use cases that leverage the service’s functionality.
The central bank said FedNow is on track to debut in 2023.
“The ability to move and receive money instantly, at any time of the day, is becoming the expectation for consumers here in the U.S.,” said Tristan Thompson, payments strategy director for Arvest Bank. “Instant payments have vast benefits for both consumer and business customers. That includes convenience, more control of funds in the form of quicker access to earned pay, improved cash flow and predictability for businesses.” “THE ABILITY TO MOVE AND RECEIVE MONEY INSTANTLY, AT ANY TIME OF THE DAY, IS BECOMING THE EXPECTATION FOR CONSUMERS HERE IN THE U.S.”
CS BANK
ADDS HENDERSON, SHIELDS
Reuben Henderson has been hired as Commercial/ Agricultural Lender for CS Bank at the local bank’s Cassville office. Henderson is a native of Purdy, Missouri, where he resides on a poultry and cattle farm with his wife and their four children. Previously, he worked for Georges Poultry, and now joins the CS Bank team after his most recent position with QC Supply in Cassville.
Mickey Shields has joined CS Bank as Deposit Reuben Henderson
Commercial/ Agricultural Lender Mickey Shields
Deposit Services/ Branch Manager
Services/Branch Manager of the Holiday Island location. Shields will be responsible for the oversight of the deposit services staff and daily operations of the Holiday Island facility. Shields will also oversee the continued enhancement of the bank’s deposit-based products and services.
Shields was most recently a Deposit Services Representative at the Financial Center in Eureka Springs. She currently resides in Berryville and is pursuing a Business Management degree online at Arkansas Tech University.
CS Bank is a $454 million-dollar, Northwest Arkansas based bank with seven locations throughout the area and plans for continued expansion.
BANK OF AMERICA
TO RAISE MINIMUM HOURLY WAGE TO $25 BY 2025
Bank of America, the nation’s second-largest bank, announced on May 18 it will raise its U.S. minimum hourly wage to $25 by 2025. In March last year, the company raised its U.S. minimum wage to $20 per hour.
In addition, Bank of America said all its U.S. vendors are now required to pay their employees dedicated to the bank, at or above $15 per hour. Today, over 99% of the company’s more than 2,000 U.S. vendor firms and 43,000 vendor employees are at or above the $15 per hour rate, as a result of the implementation of this policy.
“A core tenet of responsible growth is our commitment to being a great place to work which means investing in the people who serve our clients,” Sheri Bronstein, chief human resources officer at Bank of America, said in a statement. “That includes providing strong pay and competitive benefits to help them and their families, so that we continue to attract and retain the best talent.”
Since 2010, the company’s minimum hourly wage will have increased by more than 121% (an increase of nearly $14 per hour). In the past four years, Bank of America raised the minimum hourly wage to $15; in 2019 it rose to $17 and in 2020, to $20 — one year ahead of schedule.
FARMERS & MERCHANTS BANK
DONATE TO THE BRMC FOUNDATION
Farmers and Merchants Bank Marketing & Community Relations Administrator Amber Henry, (left), Human Resource Employee Experience Manager Shonda Litty, and VP, Loan Officer Zack Lashley present Baxter Regional Medical Center with a check for $5,000 on April 29, 2021. Representing the BRMC Foundation are Diahanne VanGulick, Coordinator, Mruk Family Education Center on Aging, Melissa Hudson, Coordinator, Peitz Cancer Support House, Cindy Costa, Director of Development, Baxter Regional Hospital Foundation, Stefany Isham, Coordinator, Schliemann Center for Women’s Health Education and Jodi Bodenhamer, Coordinator, Reppell Diabetes Learning Center.
Melissa Lefler Henshaw
Senior Vice President Commercial Lending
ARVEST
ANNOUNCES NEW HIRES, PROMOTIONS
Arvest has named Brooks Davis community bank president of its Conway and Morrilton markets. He most recently was senior vice president and commercial loan manager for Arvest in Little Rock.
Davis has 26 years of experience in the banking industry and a majority of his time was spent as president and CEO of a local community bank in Searcy. Davis served five years as a management and improvement coach benefitting multiple industries.
Davis holds a degree in business management from Harding University and a master’s in business administration from Arkansas State University. He is a graduate of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at the University of Delaware.
Josh Wagner joins Arvest Bank as vice president, mortgage lender supervisor for the bank’s Little Rock market. He will oversee the mortgage lending team. Wagner has 16 years of experience in the financial services industry as a loan officer and branch manager. He will be based out of the Arvest Branch on Highway 10 in West Little Rock.
Arvest has hired Melissa Lefler Henshaw as a senior vice president in the commercial lending department in the bank’s Little Rock market. She has served the commercial banking community for many years and has 25 years of experience in the banking industry.
Henshaw holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Arkansas. She is a member of the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, a graduate of the chamber’s Leadership Greater Little Rock program, and a past member of the Little Rock City Beautiful Commission.
Arvest Wealth Management has hired Brayden Mallett as a client advisor in Little Rock. Mallett will provide clients with strategies involving financial, insurance and retirement planning, as well as wealth management. He has seven years of experience in the financial services industry.
Mallett earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Central Arkansas and currently is pursuing a master’s degree in business administration. His community involvement includes volunteer work with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arkansas.
First Community Bank broke ground Friday at the site of its new Little Rock banking center at the southeast corner of Chenal Parkway and Rahling Road.
The Batesville-based bank branch will include several unique features including charging stations for electric cars, bike racks and workstations, a glass recycling container, an interior living green feature wall, and easy access to nearby walking/biking trails.
The modern lobby will offer both private and semi-private areas that are conducive to informal business meetings, teller stations, indoor ATM access, and a gourmet coffee bar. Another highlight is a community room that will be provided free of charge to non-profit organizations and the business community for meeting and training purposes. The room can also be rented for a nominal fee for personal events or gatherings.
“Breaking ground on this new banking facility signifies our commitment to, and investment in, the future of this community,” said Dale Cole, chairman and CEO of First Community Bank. “The financial center will create a significant presence in Little Rock and will provide our third location in the greater Little Rock area for clients to conduct business and interact with experienced community bankers.”
Flynco, Inc., of Little Rock, has been selected as the contractor for the project. Construction has officially begun on the full-service banking facility, with the goal of completing the building project in the first quarter of 2022. Tim Yelvington with RPPY Architects designed the approximately 16,000 squarefoot, two-story complex.
