TEXAS BANKING NEWS, PEOPLE and IDEAS
Neil Ferguson 
John Massey, the charismatic and big-hearted chairman emeritus of Durant, Oklahoma-based First United Bank, passed away surrounded by family on June 24. He was 86 years old. An Oklahoma native, he grew up in Boswell, Guthrie and Durant. He learned the value of hard work and resilience early from his parents, Jennie and Emmett Massey. … Read more
Armando R. Avila has joined Lubbock-based City Bank as a senior vice president on the commercial lending team in El Paso. He comes to the job with more than 20 years of experience in community banking. His expertise in commercial lending involves work in real estate, construction and industrial. Avila graduated from the University of … Read more
The Southwestern Graduate School of Banking (SWGSB) at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas held its 2022 commencement on June 9 for the 62nd class. SWGSB Foundation trustee Brad Cheves, vice president for development and external affairs at SMU, gave the commencement address on executive education’s role in leadership development. John Hope Bryant, renowned entrepreneur, … Read more
Brad Tidwell receives IBAT’s 2022 Excellence in Leadership Award from Justin Steinbach, IBAT Leadership Division chair and senior vice president at Frost Bank in Dallas.The Leadership Division of the Independent Bankers Association of Texas (IBAT) recently honored Brad Tidwell, president and CEO of Henderson-based VeraBank, with its 2022 Excellence in Leadership Award. Tidwell was honored … Read more
Kevin O’Donnell has joined the staff of Longview-based Texas Bank and Trust Co. as vice president and commercial lender in the bank’s Frisco branch. He has worked in the financial services industry since 2008 as a branch manager, senior merchant account executive, senior business manager and relationship manager. O’Donnell holds BBA degrees in marketing and … Read more
Dallas-based PlainsCapital Bank recently welcomed Philip Ugalde, Jasmine Sadeghpour and Daniel Wheeler as senior vice presidents and senior commercial loan officers for its Houston market. Ugalde and Sadeghpour will serve clients from PlainsCapital’s office at 2925 Richmond Ave. while Wheeler office out of The Woodlands location at 1699 Research Forest Dr. In his new role, … Read more
On June 16, Texas Capital Bancshares Inc., the parent company of Dallas-based Texas Capital Bank, announced that it will relocate and unite its Richardson offices and banking center to a new campus by the fourth quarter of 2023. Texas Capital Bank has signed a 15-year lease with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas and … Read more
Choudrant, Louisiana-based Origin Bank has promoted Ryan Frahm to regional production manager/senior vice president–Texas. He has nearly 20 years of mortgage and banking experience. He joined Origin Bank in 2017 as a mortgage loan officer and most recently served as the branch manager and market leader for South Dallas. In his new role, Frahm will … Read more
Conversions The TDB reports that Bank of Houston NA, based in Houston, has converted to a state charter as Bank of Houston. The TDB reports that it has approved an application by The National Bank of Texas at Fort Worth, based in Fort Worth, to convert to a state charter as NBT Financial Bank. Branches … Read more
Mergers and Acquisitions The TDB reports that Allegiance Bank, based in Houston, has applied to merge with Community Bank of Texas NA, based in Beaumont. The combined bank will be called Stellar Bank. Name Change and Home Office Relocation The TDB reports that Capital Bank of Texas has changed its name to PrimeBank of Texas. … Read more