Banker Reunion

Meanwhile, over at Merrill Lynch, they lost Hynes but they’ve gained Shell Spivey, who’s been involved in banking in Northwest Arkansas for several years. Spivey most recently was president and CEO of Community Bank, a company he helped found in 1995.

Spivey left Community Bank after that company began negotiation talks with Chambers Bancshares Inc. of Danville. During the three years Spivey led Community Bank, it grew to about $70 million in assets.

He still has to take the Series 7 exam, Spivey says, but his new employment reunites him with a couple of former colleagues: Russ Kelley, who manages Merrill’s Fayetteville’s office, and Trent Trumbo, who’s a broker in the office. All three worked at what was then First National Bank of Fayetteville. Several owners and incarnations later, that institution is now NationsBank.

“It’s good to be alive,” Spivey says.