Based on the customer activity seen by Arvest, it appears that small and medium size companies, as well as municipalities, have increasingly relied upon equipment leasing during the recession to meet their needs.

Arvest Bank’s Equipment Finance division has experienced significant growth over the past two years – with 2008 volumes up more than sixty percent (60%) from 2007 and 2009 volumes up more than twenty percent (20%) over 2008. Total volume in equipment leases for 2009 was more than $31 million.

Kyle W. Gilliam, president of Arvest Equipment Finance division, says this impressive growth is the result of several factors, “Not only have we seen a lot of companies turn to leasing because of tightened credit markets and standards, but we’ve also seen some contraction within the industry as more than 50 leasing companies have gone out of business. Fortunately for us, this contraction isn’t the result of less demand for equipment leasing but, rather, it’s a result of some companies in our industry having a large amount of charge offs due to unwise credit decisions in the past having a huge impact on the availability of capital to end-users of equipment.”

According to the Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation’s 2009 State of the Equipment Finance Industry report, bank-based leasing and finance operations gained market share in 2009 while independent leasing companies contracted.

“Well-run and well-capitalized banks have really thrived in the leasing arena during this time because of their ability to fund leases through traditional deposits, while independents rely on capital and loans to fund many of their lease agreements. For businesses looking to lease equipment, the bank-based operations like we have at Arvest are increasingly a more accessible and viable option,” Gilliam commented.

He also noted that lease financing for county and municipal governments has seen significant growth during the last year, “When a police department needs new vehicles or a school district needs to replace maintenance equipment or computers, they’ve probably delayed those investments as long as possible and just because the economy is down doesn’t mean they can wait longer. I think that’s why we’ve been approached to provide financing for so many communities recently.” Gilliam concluded.

Equipment leasing is a financing option available to businesses through a bank or leasing company as a means to fund needed equipment while still preserving existing lines of credit. Financing equipment through a lease, as opposed to a loan, provides flexibility in payment structures while preserving cash flow needed for day-to-day operations without requiring a down payment. In many circumstances it also provides tax benefits since leased equipment is not considered an asset.
 

Looking for a great way to keep your kids busy this summer?  Arvest is holding a coloring contest during the month of June that can help keep your kids entertained!   Arvest customers and community members may stop by any Northwest Arkansas Arvest bank and pick up a Northwest Arkansas Naturals “Strike the Mascot” coloring sheet for your kids.

Every child that turns in a completed coloring sheet will receive a voucher to the July 18th Naturals game. Winners will be recognized and receive their awards on the field!  Completed artwork should be submitted to the Guest Services Window at Arvest Ballpark by July 1, 2010. 

Pictured below is Makenna Stamps, working on her “Strike the Mascot” coloring sheet.

It's time to grab your golf clubs and practice your swing for the 2010 United Way Golf Tournament!

Arvest Fort Smith is proud to sponsor this year's annual golf tournament on June 21 to help raise money for United Way in the Fort Smith Region. The four-person scramble style tournament, which will include 1st and 2nd place prizes (to be awarded in 2 flights), prize drawings, a hole-in-one contest and putting contest, will take place at Fianna Hills Country Club in Fort Smith at noon. Lunch will be held with a 1:00 p.m. Shotgun start. The entry fee, which includes a golf cart, driving range, goodie bag and lunch is $400 per team. Mulligans can be purchased at 3 for $20 and the putting contest is 3 putts for $10.

Deadline for entry is June 14, so be sure to sign up now. Click here to download your registration form.

Learn more about United Way and how you can get involved here. 

As mentioned in a previous post, Arvest in central Arkansas once again participated in this year’s Great Strides Walk benefiting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The walk took place on Saturday, May 15 at the Little Rock Zoo. Despite the threat of heavy rain, 340 walkers showed up to show their support. Over $60,000 was raised, which is the first time Little Rock Great Strides has reached this mark. Arvest is responsible for $17,500 of the Walk’s total funds raised, which makes this the best year yet!

Cystic Fibrosis is a chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system of about 30,000 individuals in the U.S. and 70,000 worldwide. The mission of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is to develop the means to cure and control Cystic Fibrosis and to improve the quality of life for those with the disease. We are proud to be a supporter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and we would like to thank all our customers and associates for their generosity in helping raise funds and awareness for this cause.

If you would like to learn more about Cystic Fibrosis or Great Strides®, please click here.  

Arvest Bank in Harrison, Ark., associates recently participated in the 20th Annual Crawdad Days Festival. On May 14 and 15, hungry citizens of Harrison and neighboring towns gathered for the festivities. Every year, over 50 Arvest associates, along with their friends and family, organize and run the crawdad sales tent for the Harrison Chamber during the two day festival. 
 
This year, Arvest Harrison sold over 3,500 pounds of crawdads with all proceeds going to benefit the Harrison Chamber of Commerce. As you can see from the photos below, everyone had a great time!

Winners of the Governor’s Work-Life Balance Awards were recognized at a luncheon on May 10 at the Peabody Hotel in Little Rock.  Seventeen Arkansas employers received awards in the eighth annual ceremony, formerly named the Governor’s Family-Friendly Awards.

Arvest Bank-Fort Smith & River Valley Region in Fort Smith received the Spotlight Award.  Governor Mike Beebe presented the award.

 “Arvest is excited to get this award - for the second year in a row - that celebrates our culture.  We accept this award on behalf of all our associates as they are the backbone of our company.  It is the least we can do to help them balance the demands of both their work and home lives,” stated John Womack, President & CEO of the Arvest Fort Smith/River Valley Region. 

Companies that were nominated for the awards were asked to provide information regarding issues such as health benefits, work-time options and childcare assistance. If a company did not have formal work-life policies, informal ways of making the work environment as family-friendly as possible were taken into consideration.

To learn more about career opportunities with Arvest, click here.

Arvest Bank held a teacher appreciation cookout for the Elkins, Ark., schools on May 6th.  The grill team served over 200 hot dogs and hamburgers to a hungry crowd.   All of the teachers in attendance were very appreciative and made sure to stop by the grill to express their thanks.

Arvest is proud of have hosted this event for many years and will continue to express our sincere gratitude to the teachers in Northwest Arkansas.

Arvest Bank in Mountain Home residents and surrounding communities shredded more than 4,000 pounds of paper, or the equivalent of nearly five trees, on Saturday, May 8, 2010, at a Shred-A-Thon event held at the Arvest Mountain Home East Branch.  In lieu of paying for shredding services, residents made donations totaling $941 to the Baxter County Relay for Life.

“We’re thrilled that so many of our customers and members of the community came out to recycle unwanted documents.  It’s a small, but important event that we hope to grow each year,” Tiffany Curtis, spokesperson for Arvest said.  “We also want to remind everyone that there are easy ways to save valuable resources year-round, such as signing up for e.Statements, Arvest Online Banking or Mobile Banking.”

The Shred-A-Thon was a free event for area residents, sponsored by Arvest Bank and Shred-it, and provided an environmentally friendly way to discard unwanted paper and sensitive documents in a secure manner.