2022 Trusted Advisers Banker: Mandy Anthes

Taking a relationship-based approach to banking, Arvest Bank’s Mandy Anthes says every number on her customers’ financial statements is a story.

“I can impact my customers by making sure that I can tell that story on their behalf when underwriting a loan request,” says Anthes, who began her banking career in 2005. “I know they have worked hard to build their business, and it is my job to make their banking easy and uncomplicated. They have enough to worry about day to day and I don’t need to add to it with inefficiencies.”

A commercial banker at Arvest since 2018, Anthes says she makes a genuine investment in her clients’ businesses. Her client meetings inquire not only about financial needs and industry changes, but also celebrations, challenges, family life and new goals.

At Arvest Bank, she manages a banking loan portfolio of nearly $49 million among 70 clients. The portfolio was up 10% year-over-year from the roughly $44 million she managed in 2020.

“I believe going above the call of duty is being available and ready,” she says. “In my experience, there are no ‘banker hours.’ I try to make my hours match the convenience of the client.”

The early days of the COVID-19 pandemic certainly presented challenges to that belief, as Anthes was among bankers guiding clients though the Paycheck Protection Program, which provided small businesses with funds to pay up to eight weeks of payroll costs.

“There were numerous late nights on the phone with clients talking them through the PPP process and praying that the process would not change again as we entered their applications,” she says, adding customers also quickly needed help working through next steps. “I made sure that all my clients received the same level of service and attention.”

Summer Massey has worked with Anthes for four years at Arvest as a commercial loan manager. She says Anthes is committed to her clients, colleagues, family and community.

“When opportunities for growth and leadership are presented, she always steps up,” Massey says. “She doesn’t go blindly into an opportunity; she prepares for it and comes ready to fully participate on day one.”

Outside Arvest, Anthes is active in the banking industry, sitting on the Springfield Finance and Development Corp. as its vice president. The community development organization provides loans to central Springfield small businesses that seek job creation or retention. She also is a past chair of the Women Bankers Conference, an annual event organized by the Missouri Bankers Association.

Among her civic work beyond banking, Anthes serves as past board president of Leadership Springfield. Additionally, she is the organization’s Signature Class chair and a member of its alumni engagement committee. She also previously served with Court Appointed Special Advocates of Southwest Missouri and was a former member of the United Way Allocations Committee, Junior League of Springfield and Leadership Council for The Network, the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce’s young professionals’ group.