Arvest Equipment Finance (AEF) reported a boost in volume in 2015, ending the year with $187.6 million in loans and leases. Up more than 27.9 percent from 2014, when the division of Arvest Bank had year-end volume of $146.6 million in loans and leases.

“The success our team experienced in 2015 was due in large part to the addition of some seasoned commercial bankers to our equipment finance team,” AEF president Kyle W. Gilliam, CLFP said. “This allowed each of our specialists the opportunity to spend more time in their markets assisting customers with their equipment finance needs, while providing even better customer service than before.

“The hard work and dedication of our operations team must also be acknowledged. I believe we have assembled one of the best back-office teams in the country here at AEF. Our specialists depend on their professionalism and expertise each and every day.”

While AEF experienced 27.9 percent growth, the equipment finance sector nationally grew 10.6 percent from an estimated $946 billion in 2014 to an estimated $1.046 trillion in 2015.  Also nationally, investment in equipment and software is expected to grow 4.4 percent in 2016.

AEF is headquartered in Fort Smith, Ark., with locations in Little Rock, Kansas City and Oklahoma City. It also announced several recent promotions. Eric Bunnell of Kansas City was promoted to Sales Manager; Lori Dean and Teena Smith, both of Fort Smith, were promoted to Director of Operations and Operations Manager, respectively; John Harders of Fayetteville was promoted to Senior Sales Support Officer. All four are among the roughly 300 Certified Lease & Finance Professionals in good standing in the United States and Canada.