Bank of Texas Hires Kim Ruth as Chairman of Expanded Houston Region

Bank of Texas, a division of BOK Financial (NASDAQ: BOKF), has hired Kim Ruth to lead the company’s newly expanded Houston Region. The former Bank of America Houston and Texas state president will become the chairman of Bank of Texas Houston Region. This is a new position developed to focus expansion efforts on the fast-growing greater Houston market. Randy Walker, CEO of Bank of Texas Houston Market, will report to Ruth.

In her new role, Ruth will be the market executive responsible for all client relationships and bank operations in the region.

“Kim Ruth is a tremendous banking talent. Her diverse perspective and experiences will help us take what is already a successful franchise and expand it to meet its full potential,” said Norm Bagwell, CEO of Bank of Texas and executive vice president for regional banks at BOK Financial.

Bagwell said BOK Financial targeted Houston as a major market for expansion as the company seeks to build its presence in its regional markets. As a result, the company is splitting the management of the state in half so each leadership team can focus on its current geographic area and seek to grow into new areas. The North Region will include the company’s current operations in Dallas and Fort Worth, and will report to Mark Wade, president and COO of Bank of Texas. The Houston Region will include the central and southern parts of the state and report to Ruth.

In addition to growing in Houston, the bank plans to leverage its wealth management and mortgage operations in San Antonio and Austin under the expanded Houston Region.

“BOK Financial’s success centers around strong regional market leadership throughout our footprint,” said Dan Ellinor, chief operating officer for BOK Financial. “The addition of Kim Ruth to the already solid management team in the state positions us well to take our Texas presence to the next level.”

Ruth served in a number of roles in her 20-year history with Bank of America in Houston with increasing responsibility within commercial banking. She served as Houston market president and Texas state president for 10 years and five years, respectively.

Throughout her experience there, Ruth managed business segments across multiple states, focusing on advising and serving the needs of $5 million to $2 billion-sized business. Most recently, she was in Los Angeles with Merrill Lynch, a Bank of America subsidiary, in a regional role managing the wealth management advisory business.

Ruth’s experience in the commercial banking and wealth management arenas will bode well for Bank of Texas clients in the Houston region, said Bagwell.

“We pride ourselves on providing the personalized service of a local bank with the robust product offerings and sophistication of a $28 billion national bank,” said Bagwell. “When you combine that with Kim’s experience and relationships, I believe you end up with a tremendous outcome for our clients in this region.”

Bank of Texas has 37 full service branches in Texas, with 12 in Houston, 16 in Dallas and nine in Fort Worth. The company also operates wealth management and mortgage offices in Austin and San Antonio, and services clients across the state of Texas.

About BOK Financial Corporation

BOK Financial Corporation is a $28 billion regional financial services company based in Tulsa, Okla. The company's stock is publicly traded on NASDAQ under the Global Select market listings (symbol: BOKF). BOK Financial's holdings include BOKF, NA, BOSC, Inc. and The Milestone Group, Inc. BOKF, NA operates the TransFund, Cavanal Hill Investment Management, MBM Advisors and seven banking divisions: Bank of Albuquerque, Bank of Arizona, Bank of Arkansas, Bank of Kansas City, Bank of Oklahoma, Bank of Texas, and Colorado State Bank and Trust. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides commercial and consumer banking, investment and trust services, mortgage origination and servicing, and an electronic funds transfer network. For more information, visit www.bokf.com.