TEXAS BANKING NEWS, PEOPLE and IDEAS
On September 17, Rogers Pope Jr., chairman and CEO of Longview-based Texas Bank and Trust, announced four promotions within the bank’s commercial lending department. Blake Bradshaw was promoted to vice president and commercial lending officer in Longview; Trey Cogswell and Will Pope were each promoted to assistant vice president and commercial lending officer in Frisco … Read more
College Station-based American Momentum Bank has hired Bryan/College Station native Gates Gardner as senior vice president/commercial relationship manager. He brings 27 years of banking experience to his new role. Most recently, Gardner served as senior vice president/market president in Beaumont at Third Coast Bank, where he ranked among the bank’s top five loan producers for … Read more
The Independent Bankers Association of Texas (IBAT) recently honored Brad Tidwell and Claire Renzetti with the IBAT Chairman’s Award. The IBAT Chairman’s Award is the association’s highest honor, recognizing individuals whose contributions extend beyond service to IBAT and demonstrate an extraordinary commitment to the community banking industry as a whole. IBAT’s 2025–26 Chair Greg Wilson, … Read more
Robert Smith III, a distinguished public servant, naval officer and devoted family man, passed away on October 3 in Dallas at the age of 86. He spent much of his career in service to the Federal Reserve System. After earning his BS degree in agricultural economics from Texas A&M University, Smith pursued further studies at … Read more
Choudrant, Louisiana-based Origin Bank has hired Scott Haygood as commercial relationship manager/regional executive vice president and Merritt Grimm as commercial relationship banker/senior vice president, serving the East Texas region. They will office at Origin Bank’s Longview Financial Center at 3805 N. Spur 63. “They were both born and raised [in East Texas], and they’ve strengthened … Read more
Birmingham, Alabama-based ServisFirst Bank has hired Cody Cannon to serve as executive vice president/Houston market president. He joins the bank with more than 25 years of experience. Cannon will lead efforts to establish and grow ServisFirst Bank’s Houston team. Throughout his career, Cannon has successfully launched and expanded banking operations, recruited high-performing teams and developed long-term … Read more
The board of directors of Abilene-based First Financial Bank has announced several leadership transitions and executive promotions within its Abilene region. Following a distinguished career and 35 years of dedicated service to First Financial Bank, Marelyn Shedd has announced she will retire in December. She joined the bank as senior vice president of commercial lending … Read more
Houston-based Third Party Resources Inc. (3PR), a consulting firm that partners with financial institutions to provide risk management solutions, has promoted Cheryl Linder to director of internal audit. The advancement was announced by Lori Victory, president. Linder previously served at Third Party Resources as a senior consultant. Linder joined Third Party Resources in 2024. Before that, … Read more
Dallas-based PlainsCapital Bank recently hired two relationship bankers, one in San Antonio and one in Round Rock. Justin Vohs has joined the bank as senior vice president/senior relationship manager, based at its Round Rock office located at 400 Sundance Pkwy. He brings more than 16 years of banking and financial services experience, with a strong … Read more
On July 16, The Woodlands-based Woodforest National Bank announced the appointment of Julie V. Mayrant as chief executive officer. A banking executive with more than 30 years of experience at the bank, she has played a defining role in its growth, operational excellence and customer-focused culture. Most recently, Mayrant served as president and chief community … Read more