DALLAS, March 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Jerry Pavlas has been appointed Chief Operating Officer of Southwest Securities, FSB, the subsidiary bank of SWS Group, Inc.
A veteran banker who has served at the executive levels of bank management for more than 20 years, Mr. Pavlas was Chief Executive Officer of Presidential Finance Company in Atlanta, Ga. prior to joining Southwest Securities, FSB. Presidential Finance, with offices in several major cities, provides loans against accounts receivable to small and middle-market customers.
"We are pleased that Jerry Pavlas has joined our leadership team," said John L. Holt, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of Southwest Securities, FSB. "The experience, knowledge and leadership he brings to our bank will be very beneficial as we continue to move toward our growth goals. He has a proven track record in day-to-day bank management and overseeing the growth of banks and financial service companies."
Mr. Pavlas served as President and Chief Operating Officer of First State Bank of Texas, part of the Pohlad Banking Group, from 1998 to 2002. He was a senior banker with Hibernia Corporation from 1990 to 1998. Mr. Pavlas served as Executive Vice President, Specialized Commercial Lending Manager, for Hibernia from 1995 to 1998 and Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer, Louisiana and Texas, from 1992 to 1995. He was Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer for Banc Texas Group when that company was acquired by Hibernia in 1990. He served as Manager of the Credit Risk Management Group from 1990 to 1992.
Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, where he earned his B.A. Degree in Accounting at Cleveland State University, Mr. Pavlas began his career at Huntington Bank in Cleveland as a Budget Financial Analyst in 1971. He advanced through positions of increasing responsibility and became Vice President of the Special Asset Division in 1979.
He left Huntington Bank in 1983 to join Banc Texas in Dallas as a Senior Vice President and Manager of the Special Asset Division. In 1985, he was promoted to Executive Vice President and Manager of Credit Administration for the Special Asset Division. In 1987, he became Chairman of the Statewide Loan Committee, and in 1988, he was named Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer for the bank.
Mr. Pavlas has served as a board member of the Texas Bankers Association, chaired the Advisory Board for the University of North Texas School of Community Service, served as board member and Pacesetter Committee Chairman for the United Way of Denton County, and been a key note speaker for the Bank Administration Institute Credit Conference.
Southwest Securities, FSB (formerly First Savings Bank) was established in Arlington in 1986 and became a wholly owned subsidiary of SWS Group, Inc. in 2000. Although based in Texas, the bank conducts business nationwide and is involved in all areas of lending, from commercial loans and residential construction loans to mortgage warehouse lending. Southwest Securities, FSB offers a variety of community banking services designed to help businesses grow and communities prosper.
SWS Group, Inc. is a Dallas-based financial services holding company offering a broad range of investment and financial services through its subsidiaries. The company's common stock is listed and traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SWS.
SWS Group, Inc.
