Glenn Monroe, President and CEO, heads Meridian Bank Texas. A Texas Christian University graduate and TCU Letterman Hall of Fame member, has 22 years of commercial lending and bank management experience. He has held numerous senior level banking positions, including head of commercial banking for First State Bank of Texas in Denton, Denton County president for Wells Fargo, and chief credit officer at TexasBank.

Monroe has assembled a seasoned executive team of veteran Texas lenders who have more than 100 years of combined experience to lead bank efforts:

• Greg Stuteville, EVP, with 20 years of commercial banking experience, is a past senior executive real estate lender for TexasBank in Denton.
  
  
• John Van Son, EVP, has more than 20 years of commercial lending experience and is a former senior vice president at First State Bank of Texas in Denton and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., in Denton.
  
  
• Gordon Brucks, SVP, is an expert in back-office operations and information and data processing. A native of Fort Worth, he has 22 years of banking experience.
  
  
• Bob Hampton, SVP/Chief Credit Officer, with more than 15 years in commercial banking, is skilled in loan portfolio underwriting, monitoring, administration and regulation. He is a fifth generation Texan.
  
  
• John Spencer, SVP, is an accomplished real estate lender with 30 years of construction lending experience in North Texas, including the Denton, Flower Mound and Lewisville areas.

“We are truly excited to open our first location in Texas and have it headquartered in Fort Worth,” said Monroe. “Fort Worth is a dynamic business community. Our extensive knowledge of the area and our deep roots here combine with the financial power of Marquette to yield a very powerful starting position.

“We have the financial strength and expertise to provide personalized, innovative banking deals in terms of loan size and complexity, ” Monroe adds. “People want a business banking relationship they can count on with locally-made decisions. Meridian Bank Texas is committed to establishing these relationships and growing its presence here, and we look forward to an exciting future.”

Meridian Bank Texas is located at 915 Florence St. Hours of operation are Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Plans are for an expansion and move to a new downtown Fort Worth office building on Weatherford St. by fourth quarter 2008.

About Meridian Bank Texas
Meridian Bank Texas is part of Marquette Financial Companies, a $2.6 billion privately held financial services company owned by the Carl Pohlad family in Minneapolis. The Pohlad family has been involved in Tarrant County dating back to the 1980’s, with its ownership of First State Bank of Texas. Local sister companies include Marquette Commercial Finance, Inc., Marquette Business Credit, Inc., Marquette Consumer Finance, LLC, and NorthMarq Capital, Inc. The strength of these relationships gives Meridian Bank Texas the lending capability and capital resources to offer highly personalized banking and relationship-based services geared toward entrepreneurs. Marquette Financial has a nationwide presence with commercial banking, consumer, commercial finance, residential construction lending and commercial real estate financing. Pohlad family holdings also include significant interests in the beverage, entertainment and real estate industries, as well as the ownership of the Minnesota Twins Major League Baseball team.