Arthur?s Song: Caught Between the Moon and Birmingham (Opinion)

Gary Head, president of Arvest Bank-Fayetteville, and Dennis Smiley, president of Arvest Bank-Springdale, might have been nervous on their way to work Nov. 3. The Sunday business section in the Nov. 2 edition of The Morning News announced that Arthur Thurman was the new president of their banks.r

Turns out Thurman, a seven-year commercial lending veteran at First National Bank of Springdale, had been recruited by Regions Bank Corp. to be the Birmingham, Ala., chain’s first Fayetteville/Springdale market president.r

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette got the story straight a couple days later.r

Regions broke ground in September on a 20,000-SF, full-service facility on Fayetteville’s Joyce Boulevard that marks its first foray into Washington County. First National is being acquired by First Security Corp. for an estimated $45 million.r

Jerry Vest, the Rogers-based president and CEO of Regions’ Northwest Arkansas market, said getting Thurman was a coup.r

The former executive vice president at First National has nine years of experience with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency working as a bank examiner in the OCC’s Little Rock, Dallas and Tulsa offices.r

“Arthur’s regulatory background and experience in the local community make him an incredible asset for us as we build our Washington County presence,” Vest said.r