CrossFirst hires longtime Dallas banker to lead growth in Texas

CrossFirst Bankshares in Leawood, Kansas, has hired David Felan, a 25-year banker based in Dallas, to lead its expansion there as Texas regional president.

Felan has spent his entire banking career in the Dallas marketplace, most recently at Texas Capital Bancshares, where he was an executive vice president and relationship manager in the $36.4 billion-asset company’s Dallas corporate banking group.

“Any time you are able to attract an experienced banking executive like David Felan, it’s a win for your company, for our clients and for the communities we serve,” Mike Maddox, president and CEO of CrossFirst, said in a press release.

The $5.4 billion-asset CrossFirst entered the Dallas market in May 2016 after hiring longtime banker George Jones, who served as Texas Capital’s CEO from 2008 to 2013, to oversee the expansion project. Jones later became CrossFirst’s CEO from 2018 to 2020, when he was succeeded by Maddox.

CrossFirst opened its second Texas branch in Frisco, a Dallas suburb, in 2020. The bank has expressed interest in bulking up in and around Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, Houston and San Antonio.

A CrossFirst spokesperson declined to disclose how much the bank's Dallas-area locations contribute to its overall loan and deposit portfolios.

“I was immediately attracted to the team and leadership already in place at CrossFirst, as well as the incredible opportunity ahead of us in Texas,” Felan said in the press release. “CrossFirst’s commitment to smart strategic growth as well as extraordinary client service gives us a great launching pad to continue to build our brand in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and across Texas.”

A number of out-of-state and Texas-based banks have announced plans to enter or expand in Dallas in recent months, drawn by the city’s red-hot growth. In January, the $7.7 billion-asset First Foundation announced it would move its headquarters to Dallas from Irvine, California. Additionally, the $31.7 billion-asset Cullen/Frost Bankers in San Antonio said it would open 25 branches in the Dallas market by the end of 2023.

Population in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area rose 20% between 2010 to 2020, to 7.6 million, according to the Census Bureau.

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