Legend Bank Announces Organizational Changes

Bowie, TX—Legend Bank, a community bank serving North Texans for 130 years, is pleased to announce organizational changes, including executive leadership promotions.

Jay Bearden has been promoted to President, after serving as the bank’s Chief Lending Officer and Executive Vice President for over 10 years. Bearden, a banker since 1992, has worked for Legend Bank for over 20 years and also serves as a member of the Legend Bank Board of Directors.

“Jay has a unique understanding of the Legend Bank culture from his dedicated service in leadership roles with our bank,” said Mickey Faulconer, Legend Bank CEO. “His extensive banking expertise and knowledge of our local communities make him the perfect fit as the President of Legend Bank.”

Jay received his Bachelors of Business Administration in Finance and Management from Baylor University and he graduated from the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at SMU in 2008 as Salutatorian of his class, with distinctions in Academics and Leadership. He is an active board member for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in Northwest Texas and is a member and Deacon of First Baptist Church in Decatur, where he serves in many capacities. In his role as President, he will oversee all bank operations.

Jay moves into his new role as President with enthusiasm for the new structure and New Year, “What I love most about Legend Bank is that we are a family that cares for each other, our customers and our communities. This is a place where people want to come to work because employees know they are valued, their ideas and concerns are taken seriously, there are opportunities for personal and professional growth and we can have fun while still accomplishing our mission of serving the banking needs of our markets.”

Jeff Brooks has been promoted to Chief Lending Officer from his previous role as Regional President over Whitesboro, Sherman, Bonham, Whitewright and Cooper. Jeff has been in banking for over 26 years and has been serving Legend Bank customers in Whitesboro and surrounding areas for 14 years. He graduated from Baylor University with a BBA in Accounting and completed the Texas Banking Association (TBA) Lending School. In his role as Chief Lending Officer, he will oversee commercial and mortgage lending for all 13 Legend Bank locations, as well as the bank’s special assets.

John Lee has been promoted to Chief Credit Officer and will oversee credit analysis, credit risk, consumer lending, mortgage loan processing and loan services. John received his Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Texas and began his banking career as a National Bank Examiner with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in 1990. He continued his career as a senior credit officer and commercial lender in multiple North Texas banks. He has been with Legend Bank for over 10 years overseeing the bank’s credit risk, compliance/CRA/BSA and enterprise risk management functions. John is a 2003 graduate of the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking.

Jodie Payne has been named Chief Operations Officer. She has previously served as SVP, Deposit Operations for Legend Bank for the past five years. In her new role as Chief Operations Officer, she will be responsible for deposit operations, customer care, electronic banking, core systems, information technology and fraud loss prevention. Jodie began her banking career over 40 years ago as a teller at National Bank of Texas in Fort Worth. She quickly began managing operational areas and has spent the majority of her career overseeing deposit and account operations. Outside the office, Jodie is active in her community supporting various organizations and fundraising activities. She and her son are both cancer survivors, so she is especially passionate about funding cancer research that can advance life-saving treatments to make it possible for doctors to uncover the next big breakthrough.

Jodie Payne has been named Chief Operations Officer. She has previously served as SVP, Deposit Operations for Legend Bank for the past five years. In her new role as Chief Operations Officer, she will be responsible for deposit operations, customer care, electronic banking, core systems, information technology and fraud loss prevention. Jodie began her banking career over 40 years ago as a teller at National Bank of Texas in Fort Worth. She quickly began managing operational areas and has spent the majority of her career overseeing deposit and account operations. Outside the office, Jodie is active in her community supporting various organizations and fundraising activities. She and her son are both cancer survivors, so she is especially passionate about funding cancer research that can advance life-saving treatments to make it possible for doctors to uncover the next big breakthrough.