BOK Financial Corp. has named V. Burns Hargis, a high-profile Oklahoma City lawyer, as vice chairman for business development in the state.
The $5.3 billion-asset Tulsa company is trying to market itself as Oklahoma's last major banking company, and the only one with the state's interest at heart.
Mr. Hargis, 52, co-hosts a politically oriented television talk show that is aired statewide. He ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for governor in 1990 and has served on various state and city boards.
He is scheduled to join the bank today and will be a high-profile member of management, said Stanley Lybarger, president and chief executive officer, to whom he will report.
Mr. Hargis, a BOK director since 1993, will be responsible primarily for promoting corporate lending and municipal bond business statewide.
He will leave McAfee & Taft, a 75-lawyer firm where he has practiced corporate law for the past three years. In all, he has practiced law in Oklahoma City for 28 years.
BOK's marketing attacks out-of-state banking companies that have made recent large acquisitions in Oklahoma, including NationsBank Corp. of Charlotte, N.C., and Banc One Corp. of Columbus, Ohio.
"Other banks are exporting capital from Oklahoma," said Mr. Hargis, reiterating a point the company has been making about Banc One and NationsBank. "We want to export capital from other places into Oklahoma."
BOK also promoted Mark W. Funke, executive vice president of BOK Oklahoma City, to president, succeeding Wayne D. Stone. Mr. Funke will remain chief operating officer.
Mr. Stone, a longtime Oklahoma banker, also got a new job. He will be based in Fayetteville, Ark., as chairman and chief executive officer of BOK's Bank of Arkansas, responsible for building up the $87 million-asset unit through acquisition and development of new business.
Mr. Funke and Mr. Stone assume the new titles today. Mr. Stone was also provisionally named a BOK director, pending board approval.
Closely held BOK is 78% owned by chairman George Kaiser, who is not involved in day-to-day management.
