Arvest Mortgage Mania Tallied Out at $1.46B
by February 2, 2004 12:00 am 78 views
Arvest Mortgage Co. saw a 60.1 percent increase in mortage originations from $912 million during 2002 to more than $1.46 billion last year. The 2003 figure is believed to be an Arkansas record by a long shot, although neither the state bank department or the Arkansas Bankers Association can confirm as much.
Arvest Holdings Inc. of Bentonville did spend $211 million last fall on a cash buyout of Superior Financial Corp. in Little Rock, owner of Superior Bank in Fort Smith. That brought $207 million mortgage originations into the Arvest fold.
But Fayetteville-chartered Arvest crossed the $1 billion mark in mid-September before even adding Superior’s portion.
Steven R. Plaisance, executive vice president of Arvest Mortgage Co., said a perfect combination of 40-year low interest rates, thriving construction in Arvest’s four-state coverage area (Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma) and the bank’s market penetration made the banner year possible.
Nationwide during 2003, the mortgage industry hit a record volume of $3.4 trillion.
About $1.07 billion of Arvest’s 2003 mortgage originations were from the state of Arkansas. The bank’s 2003 ending mortgage loan servicing balance was $7.96 billion for 74,196 loans including Arvest’s mortgage servicing centers in Lowell and Little Rock.