Arvest Equipment Finance (AEF), a division of Arvest Bank, has been recognized once again by MonitorDaily, a leading publication of the equipment leasing and finance industry.
The publication recently released the 2020 Monitor 100, its annual ranking of the largest equipment finance/leasing companies in the United States. AEF climbed three spots to No. 80 after being ranked 83rd last year. This is the sixth consecutive year AEF has been ranked on the list, and the eighth time in the last nine years.
AEF ended 2019 with $421.7 million in loans and leases. That is up 35.9 percent from 2018’s $310.1 million, according to MonitorDaily.
Additionally, AEF climbed from No. 82 to No. 74 in overall annual production. The move is largely the result of a 52.4 percent increase in new business volume, which went from $161.5 million in 2018 to $246.2 million in 2019.
“We experienced record growth last year as we continue to expand our calling efforts to develop new dealer relationships,” AEF president Eric Bunnell said. “We also increased our team by adding 14 associates last year to help manage the growth, while maintaining our high level of customer service. This ranking is a great team accomplishment and I am very excited about our future.”
Bunnell also announced the hiring of Joe Mirch as AEF’s manager of credit administration. Mirch has been with Arvest for 18 of his 30 years in the industry, most recently serving as a credit analyst manager. In his new role, Mirch manages the underwriting and decision-making process for AEF vendor credit teams, among other responsibilities. Mirch is a graduate of the University of Phoenix and the Graduate School of Banking at Colorado.
“We are thrilled to have Joe join our team and bring his many years of Arvest experience to help manage our growth while maintaining high credit quality in the portfolio,” Bunnell said.
AEF is further pleased to announce eight associates earned the Certified Lease & Finance Professional (CLFP) designation in June. The associates are: Jay Bankston, Katie Crawford, Leslie Harty, Eric Johnston, Katie Jones, Jenaleigh Lathrop, Jackie Moore and Clark Parker.
To achieve the CLFP designation, associates must pass an eight-hour exam covering equipment finance topics such as accounting, pricing, law and history. AEF now has 19 associates with the CLFP designation, the eighth-highest total in the United States.
“I am so proud of these eight individuals and looking forward to having more associates become certified next year,” Bunnell said.