TEXAS BANKING NEWS, PEOPLE AND IDEAS
TEXAS BANKING NEWS, PEOPLE AND IDEAS
Neil Ferguson 
The Independent Bankers Association of Texas (IBAT) recently honored Rogers Pope Jr., vice chairman and CEO of Longview-based Texas Bank and Trust, with the 2021 IBAT Chairman’s Award. Brad Tidwell, IBAT’s 2020-21 chairman and president and CEO of Henderson-based VeraBank, chose this year’s honoree and bestowed the prestigious award to Pope in September during IBAT’s … Read more
Longtime Texas banker Joe Don Winniford passed away on September 15. As his obituary states, he was “renowned for his passion for people, charm and humility…an energetic and friendly soul [whose] life was filled with experiences and adventure.” Winniford served in the U.S. Navy for four years, then earned his BBA degree from East Texas … Read more
The Bank of Austin is scheduled to open its second financial center near downtown Austin. The Hartland Plaza location at 1717 W. 6th St., Ste. 110, will open during the fourth quarter of 2021. Near well-established neighborhoods, the new location is within five minutes of the city’s Tarrytown and Pemberton neighborhoods. It is also 10 … Read more
McKinney-based Independent Bank Group Inc., the parent company of Independent Financial, has promoted Paul B. Langdale to executive vice president/corporate development and strategy. He will be responsible for overseeing enterprise-wide strategic planning, identification and evaluation of prospective mergers and acquisitions, strategic partnerships/investments and investor relations. As a member of the company’s senior leadership, he will … Read more
Abilene-based First Financial Bank NA announced the promotion of Nora P. Thompson to chief executive officer of the bank’s Bryan/College Station region. She was promoted to president of the region earlier this year and now has been named CEO to replace Ivan M. Olson, who retired earlier this summer. Thompson has more than 30 years … Read more
Atlanta, Georgia-based Cadence Bank has hired Ariel “Ari” Marin to serve as wealth planning strategist in the Dallas office of the bank’s trust and asset management group. The bank operates 13 banking offices in Texas. Prior to joining Cadence Bank, Marin worked for the Nautilus Group, a subsidiary of New York Life. There, he consulted on … Read more
Numerous promotions and new hires were recently announced at Longview-based Texas Bank and Trust. Jennifer Harper has been promoted to senior vice president/commercial lender. She has been in the banking industry for more than 25 years and has served in a variety of roles with Texas Bank and Trust since 1998, currently as a commercial … Read more
Plano-based Alkami Technology Inc., a leading cloud-based digital banking solutions provider for U.S. financial institutions, announced that the company has finalized its acquisition of San Diego, California-based MK Decisioning Systems LLC, also known as MK Decision, a technology platform and provider for digital account opening, credit card and loan origination solutions. With the acquisition, Alkami … Read more
Larry Allen, CEO and chairman of the board at Lubbock-based Peoples Bank, recently announced the addition of two bankers to the team—Matthew Knies and Slade Terry. Knies will serve as senior vice president and lender at the bank’s Princeton location. He has been in banking for five years. Knies received his BBA degree in finance … Read more
Branches The OCC reports that Wells Fargo Bank NA, based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, has established a branch at 880 S. Preston Rd. in Prosper. The OCC reports that JPMorgan Chase Bank NA, based in Columbus, Ohio, has established a branch at 1920 E. Riverside Dr., Bldg. C, in Austin. The OCC reports that Texana Bank … Read more