Bank of England?s Mortgage Co. Moves into Northwest

England Lending, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bank of England, has moved into the Northwest Arkansas market. The Bank of England is chartered in the Lonoke County city of England, not in the British Isles.

Tim McClung, former vice president of commercial lending at Arvest Bank-Rogers, left to start the venture and is already doing business in the area. He said he plans to pick an office location in the near future because working out of his Suburban is a little cramped.

The mortgage company move is not necessarily an indication that the Bank of England is looking to open a full-service branch to Northwest Arkansas, McClung said. Instead a feasibility study will be performed and the decision is “a couple of years down the road.”

Other out-of-area banks that have loan origination offices in the area include First Financial Bank of El Dorado, which has an office in Fayetteville, and Great Southern Bank of Springfield, which has an office in Rogers. Parkway Bank, one of the four announced local startups this year and the only one so far open for business, will operate as a loan origination office until it receives regulatory approval to relocate the 104-year old Portland Bank charter to Rogers.