Coleman Movers & Shakers – Cara Lank, Steve Hart, and Chris Bielss

January 6, 2022

Delaney Sexton
Contributing Editor

Coleman Movers & Shakers – Cara Lank, Steve Hart, and Chris Bielss

Stone Bank’s Cara Lank Named to National Lending Committee

Cara Lank, a Senior Vice President and Chief Credit Officer at Stone Bank, has been named Chairman of the National Rural Lenders Association’s Government Relations Committee. The committee works with Association leadership and lobbyists on behalf of the FSA and USDA and is an advocate for USDA Guaranteed Lending programs to support rural economic development.

Lank has a BS in Public Administration from Harding University and completed the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Colorado. She has served the Arkansas State Bank Department as a Certified Senior Bank Examiner and Financial Analyst.

First Fidelity Bank Announces the Promotion of Steve Hart to President

“The bank has nearly doubled in size in the past three years. I am so pleased that Steve can step into the role of president to lead us in continuing our success,” Lee Symcox, CEO, says in a statement.

Hart has more than three decades of bank management experience. Since joining First Fidelity Bank in 2016, he has served on the bank’s executive committee, on the management team, and as chair of the senior loan committee. In his prior role as chief lending officer, he helped the bank originate more than $1 billion in new commercial loans over two years. He has excelled in the management of the bank’s commercial lending, treasury and loan operations areas.

Additionally, Hart led the bank’s 2020 pandemic efforts to help grant more than $273 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans for more than 3,100 small business clients.

PlainsCapital Bank’s Westlake Commercial Lending Team Welcomes Chris Bielss as SVP

“We’re excited to have Chris on our team,” says Westlake Branch President Sean Mills. “His deep-rooted relationships with local entrepreneurs and strong commercial banking background make him an excellent fit to serve PlainsCapital’s clients in Austin and across Texas.”

Bielss, a longtime Austin resident, has more than 10 years of banking experience. Most recently, he spent nearly seven years as a vice president at Independent Bank. Prior to his time there, he served as assistant vice president at Southside Bank. He received a BBA from the Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech University.

“I feel at home with PlainsCapital’s Westlake banking group in Austin,” says Bielss. “Their business strategies and values align with my own and I look forward to supporting our clients’ financial goals.”