TEXAS BANKING NEWS, PEOPLE AND IDEAS
TEXAS BANKING NEWS, PEOPLE AND IDEAS
On July 6, Pine Bluffs, Arkansas-based Simmons Bank announced changes to its leadership team. The bank operates 56 branches in Texas. Chad Rawls has taken on the newly created role of chief commercial banking officer. He previously served as chief credit officer overseeing all credit activity, including underwriting, approval and collections across Simmons Bank’s six-state … Read more
Chad D. Stary, First State Bank of Uvalde president and CEO, recently announced that Bryan Herndon has been named senior vice president and commercial/ag lender. Herndon has more than 20 years of experience in the banking industry, but before pursuing a banking career, he worked at the Texas A&M University Research and Extension Center and … Read more
Marshall Bookman Peters, former chairman and CEO of First City Bank of Bryan and Texas Bankers Hall of Fame inductee, passed away peacefully on July 2 at the age of 89. He was raised in Navasota and, at the age of 11, his family moved to Bryan. After earning a BBA degree from the University … Read more
Julie Welch and Meagan Bruner were recently named branch managers for two of Corpus Christi-based American Bank’s San Antonio area locations. Welch takes over as branch manager for the bank’s Universal City branch, located at 600 Pat Booker Rd. in Universal City. Bruner is the new branch manager for the Concord location at 200 Concord … Read more
Henderson-based VeraBank has hired Tina Zander to serve as treasury management officer at its Georgetown branch. She will be responsible for relationship management and onboarding of new business accounts and business development through cross-selling of treasury management products and services. “With more than two decades of experience in community banking, Tina is an accomplished leader … Read more
Longview-based Texas Bank and Trust announced two new hires in July. Jesse Roddy has joined the bank in its technology division as assistant vice president and senior network engineer in Longview. He has 15 years of experience in the service provider space, with a focus on point-to-point, internet access and telephony services. He holds an … Read more
Mikel Williamson, who served as president and CEO of Amarillo-based Happy State Bank until its 2022 merger with Conway, Arkansas-based Centennial Bank, has been named president of St. Louis, Missouri-based First Bank. He will also assume the role of CEO at the end of this year upon the retirement of Shelley Seifert, who has served … Read more
Matt Crable, regional loan president and SBA lending manager at the Pearland branch of Texas City-based Texas First Bank, has been elected chair of the IBAT Leadership Division, a division of the Independent Bankers Association of Texas (IBAT). He assumed the role from Cory Flencher, executive vice president at Somerville-based Citizens State Bank during IBAT’s … Read more
Las Cruces, New Mexico-based Western Heritage Bank announced that Bryan Hernandez has been promoted to vice president, commercial lending/underwriting. He will continue to serve the El Paso area. “His hard work with us at Western Heritage Bank has been extremely productive and his advancement within our organization maintains that he is truly an asset to … Read more
First National Bank of Giddings CEO Bill Landiss with IBAT’s Mae Beth Palone showing their respective allegiances in 2014Mae Beth Palone, who led the IBAT Leadership Division for the Independent Bankers Association of Texas for many years, passed away on June 25 from injuries sustained in a car accident. Palone was born in Klamath Falls, … Read more