In 2010, associates from Arvest Bank in Greater Kansas City donated over $7,500 to nine local charities through the Casual for a Cause Program.  This program allows associates to support their local community by making a donation to the month’s featured charity for the opportunity to wear jeans to work on Fridays.  Charities are selected from a list of associate recommendations and every month, information about the charity and its mission is shared with associates to not only generate financial support, but also awareness for the charity. 

Featured charities in 2010 included Cystic Fibrosis, True North Missions, James Elementary School, Children’s Mercy Hospital, Christmas in October, CCVI, Susan G. Komen, Toys for Tots and JDRF.

Associates appreciate the opportunity to give back to those organizations that have provided assistance to their family, friends, or those living within their local community.  Greater Kansas City has selected the Casual for a Cause charities for 2011 and associates look forward to making a positive impact on their local community again this year.

Earlier this month, Arvest Bank released results of its mortgage lending and servicing activities in 2010. For the eighth consecutive year, our lenders originated more than $1 billion in new mortgage loans.  Refinanced mortgages made up 70 percent of this year’s total.  Arvest also reached a record of more than 53,000 loans in our servicing portfolio.  Arvest’s mortgage servicing increased by more than seven percent in the value of home loans from $5.5 billion in 2009 to $5.9 billion in 2010.

While the National Mortgage Banker’s Association predicted that mortgage volumes decreased nationally by 30 percent in 2010 compared to 2009, Arvest defied that trend in both the volume and value of loans originated through our 130 mortgage loan officers spread across 230 banking locations in four states.  Those loan officers originated mortgage loans totaling $1.78 billion in 2010 compared to $1.94 billion in 2009, or a decrease of less than 8 percent.  In terms of loan volume, we originated 12,415 loans compared with 13,248 in 2009, or a decrease of 6 percent.  Both of these measurements, while down over the previous year, are significantly better than the reported national trends.

Steven Plaisance, Arvest Mortgage executive vice president, said, “The surprisingly low mortgage rates helped thousands of people improve their financial position by refinancing and also enabled many to buy homes at once again, record low interest rates.  We are pleased that more than 12,000 families have relied on us this year to help with their mortgage needs.”

“We attribute most of that success to our well-trained and respected associates, as well as our ability to service 99 percent of the home loans we make.  That means that our customers keep contact with us after their loan closes, on any issues from making payments to coupon books, to escrow questions, to auto-drafts, and resolving homeowner’s insurance claims.  People feel comfortable that we will be with them after their loan closes.”

Contact us today to speak with an Arvest Mortgage Loan Officer near you for more details on all of our home loan offerings.

Arvest is an Equal Housing Lender.  Every financing situation varies, please consult your Arvest lender for specific borrowing advice.

Large amounts of snow have entered Arvest banking markets, causing branch closings or adjustments to operating hours. Please check below to see if branch service is interrupted in your community.  We will update the list as information changes

Early Branch Closings:

Morrilton, AR - Closing at 4:00 pm today

Harrison, Yellville, Flippin, Bull Shoals, Mountain Home and Lead Hill, AR - Closing at 5:30 pm today

Fayetteville, Elkins, Prairie Grove, Farmington, West Fork, Springdale, HIndsville, Huntsville, Bentonville, Rogers, Lowell, Centerton, Gravette, Pea Ridge, Bella Vista, Siloam Springs, Gentry and Lincoln, AR - Closing at 6:00 pm

Westville, Stilwell OK - Closing at 6:00 pm

Watch the blog or follow us in Twitter @arvestbank for updates throughout the day on changes in branch hours.

In celebration of National Popcorn Day, all full-service Arvest Bank locations will be popping popcorn on Wednesday, January 19.  For many years, Arvest associates have enjoyed serving freshly popped popcorn to their customers every Friday, and some markets pop every day of the week.  Some more popcorn facts: 

In 2010, Arvest handed out over 1.1 million bags of popcorn at their branches and Arvest customers consumed 77,871 pounds of popcorn.

On average, Americans consume 1.12 billion pounds of popcorn every year.*

Over 9,000 pounds of seasoning and oil was used to pop Arvest popcorn in 2010.

The Arvest Bentonville branch in Arkansas many years ago was the first branch to begin the practice of handing out popcorn to customers in order to make the customer experience more fun.

Compared to most snack foods, popcorn is low in calories. Air-popped popcorn has only 31 calories per cup, while oil-popped is 55 calories per cup. Buttered popcorn is typically only 90 to 120 calories per cup. 

Popcorn was discovered by Native Americans and adopted by English colonists in the 16th and 17th centuries.+

During the Great Depression, popcorn was inexpensive, selling for 5 to 10 cents, and thus became a popular U.S. snack.

Throughout the day, we’ll be sharing more fun facts about popcorn and how our branches are celebrating National Popcorn Day.  To learn more, follow us on Twitter or Facebook.

While popcorn is usually an end of the week treat for many of our customers, we hope you can stop in for a mid-week snack!

+ "Popcorn Fun Facts." Popcorn Board - Home. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. * "Did You Know?" Farm and Dairy - The Auction Guide and Rural Marketplace. Web. 10 Jan. 2011.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has issued the following alert to member banks to share with consumers.  The original release can be viewed at the following address: http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2011/sa11010.html

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has received numerous reports from consumers who received an e-mail that has the appearance of being sent from the FDIC. The e-mail informs the recipient that "in cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security, federal, state and local governments…" the FDIC has withdrawn deposit insurance from the recipient's account "due to account activity that violates the Patriot Act." It further states deposit insurance will remain suspended until identity and account information can be verified using a system called "IDVerify." If consumers go to the link provided in the e-mail, it is suspected they will be asked for personal or confidential information, or malicious software may be loaded onto the recipient's computer.

This e-mail is fraudulent. It was not sent by the FDIC. It is an attempt to obtain personal information from consumers. Financial institutions and consumers should NOT access the link provided within the body of the e-mail and should NOT under any circumstances provide any personal information through this media.

The FDIC is attempting to identify the source of the e-mails and disrupt the transmission. Until this is achieved, consumers are asked to report any similar attempts to obtain this information to the FDIC by sending information to alert@fdic.gov.

For your reference, FDIC Special Alerts may be accessed from the FDIC's Web site at www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2011/index.html. To learn how to automatically receive FDIC Special Alerts through e-mail, please visit www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html.

Arvest Bank does not contact customers by e-mail soliciting personal information.  For more information on protecting yourself and your accounts, please visit our Consumer Protection section of our website.

To facilitate the needs of our customers, many Arvest Bank branches will be open on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, January 17.  Not all locations will be open. Please review the list below to check for closings in your area.

The decision to remain open or to close on a federal holiday is at the discretion of management in each local community.  The decision is always a difficult one and not made lightly.  Those choosing to remain open have done so to serve the many customers who need the ability to access accounts, obtain loans and conduct financial transactions on a Monday.  Other local markets have chosen to close in observance Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Branches in these Arvest Bank communities will be open on Monday, January 17:

Arkansas: Benton County, Springdale, Siloam Springs (including Grove, Jay, Kansas, Westville and Stilwell in Eastern Oklahoma), Prairie Grove, Fayetteville, Fort Smith (including Salisaw and Poteau in Eastern Oklahoma) and all of the branches in North Central Arkansas

Kansas: Greater Kansas City area (including branches in Lee’s Summit)

Missouri: Joplin (including Miami, OK and Neosho) & Springfield (including Branson)

Oklahoma: Oklahoma City (including Stillwater and Norman) & Shawnee (including Ada)

Join us for the MLK Reception in Fayetteville, AR – Downtown Branch at 2:00 PM
In remembrance of Martin Luther King, Jr., Arvest Bank is hosting a reception including guest speaker Gerald Jordan, associate professor, print journalism at the University of Arkansas, and a performance by the Holcomb Elementary Honor Choir.

Fifth and sixth grade students from Fayetteville and Elkins Public Schools also participated in an essay contest writing about the life and impact of Martin Luther King, Jr.  The winners of this contest will be announced at the reception.  For more information, call (479) 575-1000.

Branches in these Arvest Bank communities will be CLOSED on Monday, January 17:

Arkansas: Little Rock area (this includes all Central Arkansas locations)

Oklahoma: Bartlesville (including Vinita, OK and Caney, KS), Tulsa (including Tahlequah, Muskogee, Okmulgee, Eufala and McAlester), and all of the branches in Southwest Oklahoma (Lawton, Duncan, Walters and Chickasha)

All of our branches will be OPEN normal business hours on Tuesday, January 18. 

Of course, don’t forget that we are always available online at Arvest.com.  You can login to Arvest Online Banking 24 hours a day.  Or if you are out and about, make sure you have the Arvest Mobile Banking app installed on your iPhone or iPad.

Arvest Bank is proud to announce that Rodney Shepard, currently Sales Manager and Executive Vice President of its banking operations in Fort Smith, will become President of Arvest’s Springfield, Missouri operations. He replaces Mike Daw, who will become the Chairman of the Springfield Bank and continue with his position through a 12-18 month transition.

Scott Grigsby, Regional President of Arvest, had this to say when making the announcement, “It is a pleasure to announce that Rodney Shepard has accepted the position of President for the Arvest Bank in Springfield, MO.  Rodney came to Arvest after many years of service and leadership with Superior as a lending and retail manager.  Over the past seven years he has continued a leadership role at the Fort Smith Bank, most recently as Sales Manager.  We look forward to his leadership and management to continue the growth of this very important Springfield market. ”

When asked about his new role and move to Springfield, Rodney stated, “I am ready to get to work in Springfield and will make the transition over the next several months.  It is exciting and rewarding to be blessed with this opportunity, but it will certainly be hard to leave the Fort Smith associates, my life-long community and all of the people I’ve become close to and who have shared so many memories with me over the years.”

Shepard attended Carl Albert State College and graduated from Northeastern State University with a B.S. in Management before going on to receive his MBA from Webster University.  He also graduated from the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University, ABA Commercial Lending School in Dallas and MidSouth School of Banking in Memphis.  Shepard began his banking career in 1991 at Norwest Financial in Roland. In 1993 he joined Superior Federal Bank where he held many positions in lending and Management.  When Arvest acquired Superior bank in 2004, Rodney became Branch Administrator and then was promoted to Sales Manager in 2005.

Shepard is very involved in the community, particularly with the Riverfront Blues Society and the United Way; he has served both organizations for over 16 years as Past President and Board Member, respectively.  He also currently serves on the Fort Smith Symphony Association Board, 188th Fighter Wing/Fort Chaffee Community Council, as a Trustee of the Carl Albert State College Education Foundation and the Roland Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Committee.
 

While you look back at your last 12 months of finances—looking at where you were on target and where you may have slipped up—why not also take a look at your credit score and focus on getting it higher? Invest some time in starting the new year on stronger financial footing by following these tips for improving your credit score in 2011:

1. Understand the basics of your credit report.
2. Get a free estimate of your credit score.
3. Establish a pattern of responsible credit behavior.
4. Pay your bills on time.
5. Make more than the minimum payment when paying off long-term debts.
6. Don’t open too many new accounts.
7. Start paying off credit card debt rather than moving your balance to new cards.
8. Keep credit balances low in relation to your available credit.
9. Review your credit reports regularly.
10. Contact credit bureaus if you spot any errors on your report.

Your credit rating determines everything from whether you qualify for a mortgage to whether you can get a car loan. It can also help determine whether you'll be able to rent an apartment or get a particular job. For more tips on improving your score and keeping it in top form in the new year, read our Take Control of Your Credit Score brochure. Download now.

Article courtesy of arvestmoneyskills.com

For specific consultation about your credit, visit an Arvest lender at a nearby branch location.