Home Bancshares Buys $289 Million In Loans, Opening New York Office
by April 1, 2015 3:35 pm 161 views
Home BancShares, Inc., parent company of Centennial Bank, announced it has completed an acquisition of national commercial real estate loans from J.C. Flowers & Co. LLC totaling approximately $289.1 million.
The pool of loans was originated within the former Doral Property Finance portfolio and will now be housed in a division of Centennial known as the Centennial Commercial Finance Group (CFG).
The new Centennial division will be responsible for servicing the acquired loan pool and originating new loan production. The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to earnings.
The company has hired Christopher Poulton as the President of the newly established Centennial CFG. Poulton previously held the position of Executive Vice President of the U.S. Operations for the former Doral Bank. He brings 20 years of commercial lending and financial services experience and has extensive knowledge of the acquired loan pool and growth potential.
“I am excited about joining Centennial with its strong capital position which can support our operation,” said Poulton. “Considering New York’s business climate combined with our group of experienced lenders, we plan to present Centennial with a tremendous opportunity for loan growth.” 
In connection with this acquisition of loans and the creation of Centennial CFG, Centennial has notified the Arkansas State Bank Department and the New York Department of Financial Services of its plans to establish a new loan production office in New York, New York.
The loan production office is anticipated to open on or about April 23, 2015, pending confirmation of no objection from both states.
Once the loan production office has been established, Centennial CFG plans to build out a national lending platform focusing on commercial real estate plus commercial and industrial loans.
“We are very excited to welcome Christopher, Nick and the newly created Centennial CFG team to Centennial,” said John Allison, Home Bancshares Chairman. “This is an attractive financial opportunity which will allow us to immediately grow our loan portfolio, increase income and enhance our franchise.”