Metropolitan Moves Into Northwest Market

Metropolitan National Bank of Little Rock has announced plans to open a mortgage origination office in Fayetteville by late September.

Lunsford Bridges, president of Metropolitan, said the operation will be on Frontage Road in the building that previously housed Regions Bank.

“The economic activity in Northwest Arkansas is phenomenal,” Bridges said.

Bridges said previous commercial lending success in the area prompted what he called a “natural progression.” He said the bank will look at eventually having a full-service bank in the area, but he could not say what the criteria was for such a move.

Bob Markovics, an MNB vice president, will head the office that will employ about six people.

Metropolitan National Bank had total assets of $938 million as of March 31, up 15.5 percent from $812 million a year earlier. It operates 29 offices in Faulkner, Pulaski and Saline counties.

Recently, the Bank of England opened a mortgage origination business through its subsidiary, England Lending, and Ozark Lending Inc. has expanded its operations into Washington and Benton counties’ estimated $4.4 billion mortgage market.