Regent Bank hires former Bank of Missouri exec

SBJ file photo

Mick Nitsch becomes Regent Bank's new local president.

Regent Bank quickly hired a new president for its Springfield market after the position was left vacant last month.

Mick Nitsch, former regional bank president at The Bank of Missouri, has taken on the Regent Bank leadership role, according to a news release issued this morning. Nitsch succeeds Craig Dunn, who exited in April to become Guaranty Federal Bancshares Inc.'s (Nasdaq: GFED) executive vice president and chief commercial banking officer. Nitsch’s LinkedIn profile indicates he started this month at Regent Bank.

Nitsch led The Bank of Missouri's local operations for 14 years until he quietly left the company earlier this year.

“He is truly a professional in every sense of the word and shares the core values of our organization," said Sean Kouplen, chairman and CEO of Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Regent Bank, in the release. "We know Mick had many opportunities and we are so blessed that he has chosen Regent Bank.”

Regent Bank also announced in the release the promotion of Nick Burlison to senior commercial banking officer for its Missouri region.

Burlison was among former Bear State Bank employees, including Dunn, who helped launch Regent Bank's local office in early 2018. Regent Bank's entry into the market came as Arvest Bank worked to close on its $391 million purchase of Bear State, according to past reporting.

"Nick has been an outstanding leader for us as we’ve grown our Springfield market over the last two years," Kouplen said in the release. “Now, we are excited to leverage his talents and relationships to take our Missouri presence to the next level.”

At The Bank of Missouri, Dawn Dauer, the company’s chief banking officer, is serving as the interim regional president, according to past reporting.