Demand for Bankers Raises Area HR Bar

Wanted: Loan originator. Experienced teller. Secondary market lending coordinator. These and other ads are a common site in the classified section of area newspapers.

As of March 31, there were more than 2,200 bank employees in Northwest Arkansas, an estimated number generated from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and through phone calls to banks with significant operations outside the two-county area.

Due to the nature of the industry — buyouts, start-ups and general growth — comparison numbers are hard to come by. But it looks as though the banking job market grew about 35 percent from the same date in 2000.

And with 25 up-and-running banks in the area and the promise of at least two more, the competition to hire the right team member will become even stiffer, some bankers said.

But for the record, nobody is saying what everybody knows: Salaries are going up. Particularly those of in-market commercial lenders with the relationships to make deals happen.

It’s simple supply and demand, several bankers who wished to stay off the record said. Banks want to hire the people who can and will make them money, and they’re willing to pay for it.

“I don’t think banking is different from lots of other industries in Northwest Arkansas,” said Tom Spillyards, president of Simmons First Bank of Northwest Arkansas. “It’s not hard to attract people to Northwest Arkansas, but because of the high level of growth it’s sometimes hard to retain them.”

“Everyone competes for the good ones,” said Arthur Thurman, president of the Fayetteville and Springdale markets for Regions Bank. “It’s a challenging market to keep and retain employees.”

Thurman said it’s also a great market to be an employee, since there is ample opportunity and it can mean advancement for people who might have to wait a long time for a position to open.

Kim Peters, vice president of regional corporate services with Bentonville-based Arvest Bank Group Inc., switched jobs from Bank of Arkansas N.A. in September for more responsibility and the opportunity to advance, she said. Salary was a factor, but so was the opportunity to be with the bank controlling the lion’s share of the market, she said.

Her husband, Michael Peters, vice president of commercial lending for Regions Bank in Fayetteville, also changed banks from the former First National Bank of Springdale. But the move for him was more about following Thurman, who was also with FNB before it sold to First Security Bancorp of Searcy.

Laura Andress is the vice president and director of human resources for Arvest Bank Group. The holding company is responsible for about half the banking jobs in Northwest Arkansas, including operations, information technology professionals, lawyers and other non-banking staff.

Andress said recruitment efforts are being “stepped up” at her company.

Arvest has a couple of different internship programs designed to entice students to stay on-board after graduation, she said, and the group is actively trying to get the word out that about one-fifth of its employees are something other than “bankers.”

With the demand for quality employees so high, some banks have tightened hiring practices.

Arvest requires potential employees to pass a drug test, credit check and comprehensive background check that requires fingerprints be sent through the FBI.

Marilyn Hendricks, chief operating officer with Signature Bank of Arkansas in Fayetteville, said along with a credit check, potential employees must endure a panel interview to see if they fit in with the bank’s culture.

The start-up bank has had no problem hiring enough people, Hendricks said.

There is a waiting list of interested applicants and she has hired several people who haven’t left their current jobs yet, she said.