MidFirst Bank is a privately owned bank in the United States based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Its primary markets include Oklahoma City, Tulsa, western Oklahoma, Denver, and Phoenix, with commercial real estate lending offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Houston, New York City and Southern California. MidFirst Bank offers personal, commercial, trust, private banking and mortgage banking products and services. Additionally, the bank also operates 1st Century Bank of Los Angeles as a division of MidFirst Bank, and Presidential Financial Corporation of Atlanta as a subsidiary of MidFirst Bank.
History
The Midland Group began in 1954 when W.R. Johnston, an experienced Oklahoma banker, purchased a 50 percent share in Midland Mortgage Company, an Oklahoma City-based company that had been formed four years earlier by a handful of individual investors. By 1963, Johnston and his son-in-law, George Records, had purchased the remaining 50 percent. Today, the Records family owns 100 percent of the Midland Group.
In 1982, Midland Financial Co. purchased a newly formed charter bank in Stilwell, Oklahoma, named it MidFirst Bank and moved it to Oklahoma City. At the end of its first year, the bank had $1.7 million in assets and five employees.
In 2009, MidFirst Bank acquired Community Bank of Arizona and Union Bank.
In 2015, MidFirst Bank acquired Denver-based Steele Street Bank & Trust, a locally owned and operated community bank.
In July 2016, MidFirst Bank acquired 1st Century Bancshares in Los Angeles. After the merger, MidFirst’s combined assets total more than $12 billion.
Today, MidFirst Bank is one of the largest privately owned banks in the United States, serving more than 625,000 customers. The bank offers a full range of commercial, trust, private banking and mortgage banking products, and serves as a commercial real estate lender and major servicer of mortgage loans nationally. Primary markets include Oklahoma City, Denver, Phoenix, Tulsa and western Oklahoma, with commercial real estate lending offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland,Dallas, Houston, New York City and Southern California.
MidFirst chairman and CEO G. Jeffrey Records, Jr. is a part-owner of the Oklahoma City Thunder of the NBA through its ownership group The Professional Basketball Club, LLC.
Community Commitment
MidFirst is committed to the communities it serves through philanthropy, voluntarism of its employees through the True Corps program, and many corporate partnerships and sponsorships. They also offer financial education programs and workshops that help the communities they serve to develop strong money management skills.
Sponsorships
MidFirst Bank is the official bank of Arizona State University, the Oklahoma City Thunder, Oklahoma City Dodgers, and the University of Central Oklahoma. It also offers Arizona State University, Oklahoma City Thunder, University of Central Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University debit and credit cards, and University of Oklahoma and University of Tulsa debit cards.
MidFirst supports many causes through its debit card programs, including the Pink Card for breast cancer awareness, the Heart Card for heart health and the Art Card supporting the Oklahoma City Arts Council. The Pink Card alone has raised more than $1 million for breast cancer awareness and research.
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