With most of the final quarter of the year now in the books, area bankers continue to sound a pretty consistent theme: that 2017 has proven to be a busy year as far as mortgage activity goes.

Those executives include Orion Federal Credit Union CEO Daniel Weickenand, for example, who said his institution expects its mortgage business – which was strong in 2017 – to be just as active “and possibly better” in 2018. And the latest monthly mortgage figures from real estate information company Chandler Reports, chandlerreports.com, help show why that’s the case.

2. New General Counsel Hired At Evolve Bank & Trust - Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Evolve Bank & Trust has tapped a new general counsel.

Virginia Wilson, who’s been in private law practice for 28 years with banking and financial services experience, is the bank’s new senior vice president and general counsel. She comes to the bank from Butler Snow LLP in Memphis.

3. Mortgage Market Grows 24 Percent in March - Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Shelby County’s mortgage market closed out a busy first quarter with a 24 percent bump in purchase mortgage volume for the final month of the quarter, new figures show.

Purchase volume in March topped $162 million, up from $131 million during March 2016. That’s according to the latest figures from real estate information company Chandler Reports, www.chandlerreports.com.

4. Shelby County Mortgage Market Up 17 Percent in August - Thursday, September 15, 2016

Bankers like Scott Stafford are watching for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates soon and, at least for the moment, expect the usual mortgage market cool-down heading towards the end of the year.

5. Mortgage Market Up 3 Percent In March - Thursday, April 14, 2016

Shelby County’s mortgage market closed out the first quarter by posting March numbers that headed in the direction bankers and real estate professionals like to see.

Last month’s total purchase mortgage volume was a little more than $131 million, up by $3.4 million over March 2015’s total of almost $128 million, for a gain of about 3 percent. That’s according to real estate information company Chandler Reports, www.chandlerreports.com.

6. Fed's Bullard to Address Economic Club of Memphis - Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Only a few weeks after the Federal Reserve decided to raise interest rates after keeping them near zero for years, a key Fed official will be in Memphis later this month to talk about the economy and what lies ahead.

7. Evolve Bank Taps New Mortgage Division President - Saturday, January 2, 2016

Evolve Bank & Trust has tapped Doug Miller as the new president of its mortgage division.

He comes to Evolve with nearly 45 years of experience in the mortgage industry, a career that's included working at Wachovia Mortgage, Citicorp Mortgage, Union Planters/Regions Bank and GMAC Bank/Ally Bank.

8. Evolve Bank Taps New Mortgage Division President - Monday, December 28, 2015

Evolve Bank & Trust has tapped Doug Miller as the new president of its mortgage division.

He comes to Evolve with nearly 45 years of experience in the mortgage industry, a career that's included working at Wachovia Mortgage, Citicorp Mortgage, Union Planters/Regions Bank and GMAC Bank/Ally Bank.

9. Shelby County Mortgage Market Up 10 Percent in October - Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Shelby County’s mortgage market is now mid-way through the final quarter of the year, but, judging from the market’s performance in October, the typical year-end slowdown hasn’t materialized yet.

10. Mortgage Market Slips 3 Percent in September - Thursday, October 8, 2015

Though it’s been on a tear this year as rates have stayed low and supply remained somewhat thin, the Memphis-area mortgage market cooled a bit as the third quarter drew to a close.

But that’s generally to be expected, real estate professionals say, as the weather also cools and the end of the year draws near.

11. Shelby County Mortgage Market Up 27 Percent in August - Monday, September 14, 2015

Lenders don’t just look forward to the summer months for the arrival of warmer weather.

At institutions like Evolve Bank & Trust, the local office of which president and CEO Scott Stafford said currently has the largest mortgage pipeline in its history, mortgage lending is heating up, too.

12. Boeing Names its New Apollo-Style Spacecraft the Starliner - Monday, September 7, 2015

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Boeing already has the Dreamliner. Now it also has the Starliner.

The aerospace giant announced the name of its future space fleet Friday. More than 200 people, including Florida Gov. Rick Scott, NASA and Boeing officials, and a bevy of former astronauts, gathered at NASA's Kennedy Space Center to celebrate the grand opening of Boeing's commercial crew and cargo processing facility.

13. Evolve Creates Java4Jobs to Help Finance Startups - Saturday, August 29, 2015

Evolve Bank & Trust has started a coffee company to provide financing for startups, small businesses and minority- or women-owned businesses.

14. Evolve Creates Java4Jobs To Help Finance Startups - Monday, August 24, 2015

Evolve Bank & Trust has started a coffee company to provide financing for startups, small businesses and minority- or women-owned businesses.

15. Shelby County Mortgage Market Grows 23 Percent in March - Friday, April 10, 2015

The last month of the first quarter showcased a Shelby County mortgage market with abundant vitality, including evidence that plenty of demand exists among buyers eager to sign on the dotted line.

Mortgage volume countywide grew 23 percent in March compared to the same month a year ago, according to real estate information company Chandler Reports, www.chandlerreports.com. Year over year, volume last month rose to a little more than $126 million, up from $103.1 million in March 2014, and lenders say continued low rates are one reason why.

16. November Mortgage Volume Drops 14 Percent - Thursday, December 11, 2014

Looking at results from last month might suggest mortgage industry professionals are in the midst of a yearend slowdown, with phones not ringing quite as much as a result of interested buyers at the moment.

17. Shelby County Mortgage Market Sees Modest Gain - Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Shelby County mortgage lenders share a few common trends at the moment, as the area’s mortgage market begins to shake off the wintry chill of the first quarter.

Many of them report robust purchase mortgage activity, as refinances plummet to small fractions of their business. As a result of the demand, many of those lenders also have been adding mortgage officers to their ranks and plan to continue doing so.

18. Mobile Services Increasingly Expected of Banks - Thursday, July 3, 2014

The mobile race is on among Memphis financial institutions, with banks rolling out apps that allow banking on the go and a full range of capabilities that translate the brick-and-mortar banking experience to small digital screens.

19. Evolve Bank Adds Compliance Officer - Saturday, June 21, 2014

Evolve Bank & Trust has added a new name to its compliance department.

Janet Hendrix is a new officer in the department, bringing 25 years of banking and compliance experience with her. In a statement about Hendrix’s addition to the company, Evolve President and CEO Scott Stafford said her expertise will be vital to Evolve as it continues to grow and expand.

20. Evolve Bank Adds Compliance Officer - Monday, June 16, 2014

Evolve Bank & Trust has added a new name to its compliance department.

Janet Hendrix is a new officer in the department, bringing 25 years of banking and compliance experience with her. In a statement about Hendrix’s addition to the company, Evolve President and CEO Scott Stafford said her expertise will be vital to Evolve as it continues to grow and expand.

21. Community Impact - Saturday, November 16, 2013

Attendees on the opening night of the Indie Memphis Film Festival a few weeks ago saw splashed on movie screens, before their features got underway, the logo of Memphis-based investment firm Duncan-Williams Inc. and its two-word motto of “Do Well.”

22. Evolve Bank & Trust Expands to Jonesboro - Friday, November 15, 2013

Evolve Bank & Trust has announced it will be opening a new office in Jonesboro, Ark., next month.

The Memphis-based bank’s new office there includes a group formerly with Liberty Bank, the arrival of which Evolve president and CEO Scott Stafford said “is a great score for us.”

23. Evolve Bank & Trust Honored for Creating Jobs - Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Memphis-based Evolve Bank & Trust generated 203 jobs from Jan. 1, 2012, through June 30 of this year, a feat that was honored in Inc. Magazine’s second annual Hire Power Awards.

24. Hammond Joins Evolve Bank to Expand Lending - Thursday, September 26, 2013

Chris Hammond, formerly with Nashville-based Physicians Capital, has joined Memphis-based Evolve Bank & Trust to help expand Evolve’s lending operations.

25. Shelby County Mortgages Show Nearly 4 Percent Gain - Tuesday, July 16, 2013

The mortgage market is starting to get interesting, in a manner of speaking. Earlier this month, interest rates for mortgages rose in what was described as the largest one-day jump in at least 10 years, according to Mortgage News Daily. That in large part stemmed from the Federal Reserve, which has been snatching up $85 billion worth of mortgage-backed securities a month.

26. Summer Travel Forecast: Better, but No Blowout - Monday, May 27, 2013

NEW YORK (AP) – This summer, high rollers are flying to lavish hot spots for their vacations. The rest of us are driving to less luxurious places like nearby campgrounds.

The good news: At some U.S. campgrounds these days you get live bands, air guitar contests and chocolate pudding slip 'n slides.

27. Banks Showcase Artwork, Local Artists - Monday, January 7, 2013

Since December, Paragon National Bank has been showcasing art pieces from Dogwood Elementary School students at its Saddle Creek bank branch at 7600 Poplar Ave.

28. County’s Mortgage Market Up 7 Percent - Monday, December 24, 2012

If they had any worries about next year’s taxes, the fiscal cliff and economic uncertainty, the local mortgage market saw borrowers brush them aside during November.

Continuing a pattern that’s been more the rule than the exception this year, Shelby County’s mortgage market keeps growing at a steady clip, and continued doing so through last month. Total mortgage volume countywide in November was up 7 percent over November 2011, climbing to almost $93 million in November 2012 from about $87 million during the same period last year, according to real estate information company Chandler Reports, www.chandlerreports.com.

29. Easy Money - Monday, October 8, 2012

When the Federal Reserve announced a few weeks ago its newest – i.e., third – round of quantitative easing intended to once again try to juice a sluggish economy, an employee of FTN Financial couldn’t resist a metaphor for the Fed’s open-ended commitment.

30. Local Mortgage Market Up 22 Percent - Wednesday, September 19, 2012

It’s been an old story for several quarters – for a few years now, in fact: Rates are low, and homebuyers keep tiptoeing back into the market.

That’s especially liable to be the case going forward, in light of the Federal Reserve’s steps last week to keep interest rates low for an indefinite period of time. Indeed, the local mortgage market continues to feel the effects of those low rates.

31. Evolve Bank ‘Hitting on All Cylinders’ - Monday, August 6, 2012

Scott Stafford, president and CEO of Evolve Bank and Trust, said his bank is forecasting a strong second half of the year, and it’s not hard to see where that optimism comes from.

32. Evolve Bank & Trust Announces Additions - Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Marty Ferguson has joined Evolve Bank & Trust as CEO of the bank’s Small Business Administration Division.

33. Back to Black - Monday, November 28, 2011

The Friday after Thanksgiving, often dubbed, “Black Friday,” is considered by many to be the traditional start of the holiday season shopping in the U.S.

The origin of the term varies. Some sources attribute the Philadelphia Police Department’s coinage of the phrase in 1966 to describe the hectic traffic and chaotic crowds on the busy shopping day. Others deem the expression to reflect a retailer’s shift to profitability during the holiday season, when a boost in sales moves a business out of the “red” and into the “black.”

34. Industry Growth - Tuesday, November 15, 2011

The local banking and finance industries have proven to be a temporary boon of late to a group of people hit hard by contractions in banking and housing: architects and construction workers.

At the moment, a handful of new branches or office locations are either in some phase of construction or are preparing to open for companies that include Independent Bank, Evolve Bank & Trust, Metropolitan Bank, Iberiabank and Shoemaker Financial.

35. Evolve Bank Moving Into Triad Centre III - Monday, August 29, 2011

Evolve Bank & Trust is preparing to move into a new branch location next month at 6070 Poplar Ave. in the Triad Centre III office building.

36. Evolve Announces New Hires - Thursday, April 14, 2011

Dick Wittenberg has been hired as a senior vice president and private banking officer in the private banking division of Evolve Bank & Trust.

37. Evolve Bank & Trust Adds SBA Division - Friday, March 25, 2011

Evolve Bank & Trust has added a Small Business Administration division with a nationwide platform to its portfolio of service offerings.

38. Mortgages Plummet 24 Percent - Tuesday, October 12, 2010

If the quarterly period between July and September had been a normal one for the local housing market – or even one characterized by recovery – homebuyers should have been lining up to take advantage of plummeting mortgage rates.

39. Response Mixed to Government Small Biz Loan Programs - Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Tri-State Bank of Memphis has exchanged its nearly $2.8 million in Troubled Asset Relief Program money for a lower-cost infusion of federal capital that has a slightly different purpose – to boost bank loans to small businesses.

40. Evolve Honors House With Law Scholarship - Thursday, July 15, 2010

A new scholarship established at the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law honors the legacy of a respected Memphis lawyer and financial consultant who died in December.

E. James “Jim” House Jr. is still remembered for his wisdom, strong work ethic and place in the local business community. One colleague recalled him as a “man’s man” and a “prince of a guy” who would have been thrilled to know his name graces a scholarship that will cover a major part of a law student’s tuition.

41. Archived Article: Newsmakers - Wednesday, May 5, 2004
HAMILTON EYE INSTITUTE PHYSICIANS RECEIVE AWARDS

Shelby County DCS Administrator Named

Tennessee Department of Childrens Services Commissioner Viola P. Miller appointed Antoinette Holman Shelby County Regional Administrator for DCS. Holman pre...