Arvest recently announced that for the eighth consecutive year in a row, Arvest Mortgage Company has originated more than $1 billion in new mortgage loans.

“This year’s activity has been fueled by the homebuyer tax credit in the first part of the year and the historically low mortgage rates as of late that has reignited consumers to refinance,” Steven Plaisance, executive vice president of Arvest Mortgage Company, said.

He continued, “One of the reasons we have been successful and experienced such strong and steady demand is our commitment to retain servicing on loans – to keep them local for our customers. With the events that have happened in our industry over the last year, I think customers appreciate the convenience and peace of mind that they get knowing they can walk into a local bank and get up-to-date information about their individual mortgage.”

Thank you to all of our Mortgage Lending and Mortgage Support staff for their hard work in serving our customers! 

If you are considering buying, building or refinancing a home, contact us today to speak with an Arvest Mortgage Loan Officer near you for more details on all of our home loan offerings.

Local Arvest Asset Management Client Advisor and Investment Specialist, Andrew Whitbeck, spoke to 75 fifth graders at Westwood Elementary School in Springdale, AR on Wednesday, September 22nd.

Whitbeck taught the students lessons on savings and how a bank works. The students discussed what things to save their money for and where to keep their savings.  They also talked about how to save their allowance and meet their savings goals. They were interested to learn about working at a bank and how to open an account, too.

Check out a couple of the photos from the event, below!

Arvest Bank recently presented the Pea Ridge, Arkansas, Fire and Police departments each with a donation of $250 to commemorate the ninth anniversary of September 11, 2001.

It was great to recognize their hard work for the Pea Ridge community. We hope our funds will help with both departments and their wish list needs.

Thanks to all those who work and volunteer for the Pea Ridge Fire and Police departments, we appreciate all you do!

The first International Festival was held at the Riverfront Park in Fort Smith, AR on Saturday, September 18th to celebrate Central America’s and Mexico’s Independence Days.  Due to the success of this year’s festival, there are plans under way to make this an annual event.

Arvest had a booth where people could register to win a $50 savings bond, and we gave away small prizes and candy. We also answered banking questions that attendees had and distributed informational materials about our unique money transfer product, Unidos.

It was a day of fun, celebration and of eating lots of food!

Customers with an iPhone, iPad or iTouch device will soon be able to download the new myArvest iPhone application.  The new myArvest app is an update to the current Arvest Branch & ATM Finder and adds many new features.  The new updated application will include:

• Branch & ATM Finder - Locate nearby Arvest branch locations and ATMs using your device's GPS function.  Address and driving directions are provided from your current location.  Color coded map pins tell you if the branch is open or closed.
• Personal Finance Calculators - Over 40 personal finance calculators to help you with everything from buying a home to budgeting for the holidays.
• Arvest News - Keep up with local community events, product news and other articles from the Arvest Blog.
• Current Rates - Look up current Arvest deposit rates for checking, CDs and Money Market accounts.
• Customer Connect - Using your device's GPS, find the nearest local customer service phone numbers and email contact information for personal assistance.
• Links - Quick links to arvest.com, Arvest on Facebook, Arvest on Twitter and Arvest Career Opportunities.

The application will be available for download in the iTunes App Store within the next few weeks.  Current users of the Arvest Branch & ATM Finder  will be prompted to update when the new application is available in the iTunes App Store. 

Recently, the new National Ave. and Chestnut Expressway location of Arvest Bank in Springfield, MO received a very special award from the North Springfield Betterment Association (NSBA).

Each month the NSBA honors a business they feel improved the north side of Springfield, and we were presented the award for September. Our location was recognized for its landscaping, sustainability efforts and community commitment to the north side of Springfield. Marcy Dollens, branch manager, Michal Moss Early, sales manager, and Michael Gandy, marketing officer, accepted the award at the monthly NSBA luncheon on behalf of Arvest Springfield.

Since 1970 NSBA has encouraged and promoted those who make north Springfield a better place to live and work. A big thanks to NSBA for recognizing our efforts and to all our associates for working hard to make our community a better place!

Arvest Bank hosted a food drive from August 16-31 to help stock snack bag programs at Fayetteville and Elkins schools in Northwest Arkansas.

With 171,849 children in Washington County who are living in poverty, many of them are receiving free and reduced cost meals at school.  These children and their families rely on food stamps, community outreach programs and local organizations for day-to-day support.

Fayetteville and Elkins school counselors saw this need and implemented a snack bag program to help their students, many of them at the grass roots level for their respective school. Through the program, snacks are sent home each Friday with children on free or reduced meal plans to ensure they have something to eat over the weekend. Parent Teacher Organizations, the Arkansas Rice Depot and individual donors donate to each school’s food pantry. Even with these donations, they sometimes run short on food for their students.

Nine Arvest Fayetteville locations as well as the branch in Elkins participated to collect over one thousand items like granola bars, peanut butter, pop tarts, fruit cups and cereal.  The donations were then sent to Asbell, Butterfield, Leverett, Washington, Holcomb and Owl Creek schools in Fayetteville and the Elkins Elementary School.

Thanks to all who donated to our food drive and supported our local schools!

The Arvest Bank branch located inside the Walmart Supercenter on Martin Luther King Blvd., in Fayetteville has been remodeled and celebrated its Grand Re-Opening this past Friday.

The branch closed on Aug. 13 for the renovations and reopened on Aug. 31.

During the celebration we held a drawing for a 22” LCD Flat Screen TV and announced Arvest customer Ruth Swain as the winner.  We also served lemonade, cookies, cake and brownies for all who stopped by the branch.

Check out some photos from our celebration!