Thursday Kudos: Johnny Allison Named Community Banker Of The Year

Home Bancshares Chairman Johnny Allison is honored; AT&T names a new general manager in Arkansas; and Arvest Bank hits a milestone for the second year in a row.

ALLISON NAMED BANKER OF THE YEAR
Home Bancshares Chairman Johnny Allison was named one of five bankers of the year by the prestigious American Banker magazine.

Allison, who orchestrated the Home Bancshares-Liberty Bancshares $280 million deal earlier this year, is featured prominently in a multi-page spread which you can read here.

The article also mentions Allison’s guidance in acquiring seven failed banks in Florida and two deeply distressed ones. The kudos for Home Bancshares is capsulated in this statement:

“Analysts say it is in an elite class of community banks with a stock price that gives it the power to keep buying and potentially build itself into one of the large regionals of the next generation.”

AT&T NAMES NEW GM FOR ARKANSAS, OKLAHOMA
AT&T named Larry Evans to oversee the sales and operations in Arkansas and Oklahoma. Evans will oversee more than 1,100 employees, nearly 60 owned and operated retail locations and more than 430 national retail partners and authorized resellers in the two states.

“Larry brings tremendous talent to the table, with experience in nearly every aspect of the business, from enterprise sales to retail management,” said Kelly King, Central Region President of AT&T Mobility. “Larry’s expertise and successful track record make him a natural choice to lead our operations in Arkansas and Oklahoma.”

Evans was most recently vice president and general manager for AT&T’s Tri-State Market, which includes Ohio, western Pennsylvania and the northwestern area of West Virginia. Evans began his career with Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems in 1983 in Dallas and served six years previously in Arkansas in another role. A native of Dallas, Evans has a degree in accounting from the University of North Texas.

ARVEST BANK MORTGAGES TOP $2 BILLION
Arvest Bank reported that its operations have originated more than $2 billion in mortgage loans – both refinance loans and purchase money loans – through November 15, 2013. This marks the second consecutive year that Arvest Mortgage has reached the $2 billion mark in mortgage loans.

Through October of 2013, purchase money loans increased by 15 percent compared to the same period in 2012 – from $704 million to $811 million. The mix of purchase money loans and refinance loans changed during that period from 33 percent purchase and 67 percent refinance in 2012, to 41 percent purchase money loans and 59 percent refinance in 2013.

“I’m excited that we have reached the $2 billion milestone again, and the continued increase in purchase money transactions is something we see as a positive sign,” said Steven Plaisance, president and chief operating officer of Arvest Mortgage Company. “This year we saw a drop in refinance originations, and I’m anticipating further declines in refinancing in 2014 as well.”

“This shift from refinance loans to purchase money just means that there is still plenty of opportunity for both new home buyers and those who wish to refinance their current mortgage. Rates continue to be a bargain historically, and should stay that way for some time,” he added.