BANES CAPITAL GROUP - Key Persons
Alston joined Banes Capital in 2022 after years in banking, finance, and the automobile sales and financing business. His experience with the loan origination process and credit buckets that are part of any financial institution's secondary market criteria make him a natural fit for the whole loan sector. He is a legacy in the business, which means Alston grew up with conversations about the capital markets served with his cheerios.
With a strong commitment to the Memphis community, Alston graduated from Memphis University School and Ole Miss. He loves old cars for their engineering simplicity and style. He supports charity organizations throughout the Mid-South, while holding music as one of his passions. Alston has been an avid and active musician singing in local choirs and performing live for special events across the country.
Education: Managerial Finance, University of Mississippi
Ben grew up in Nashville and is a recent graduate of Christian Brothers University. Ben was a four-year member of the Buccaneer Men's Golf Team and served as Treasurer of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity, Xi-Eta Chapter. He enjoys playing golf, cooking, and almost anything that allows him to appreciate the outdoors. After an unconventional start to 2020, Ben Garvin joined the team as a Strategies Analyst. Through some time on the desk learning from the best, he graduated to Financial Strategist and is now working even closer with his banks and credit unions.
Education: BA in Business Administration, Christian Brothers University
Job Titles:
- Digital Marketing Manager
Brandon joined the team as an intern in October of 2020. Since then, he's helped us focus our marketing efforts and added a fresh voice to our brand. He spends his time compiling and updating digital and print collateral, and is always looking for new ways to tell our story.
Before moving to Memphis, Brandon spent more than seven years teaching, training, coaching, and managing online organizations for veterans. He was awarded the Campus Compact President's Student Civic Leader Award for volunteering in Washington State and inducted into the National Society of Leadership and Success.
Education: BA Integrated Strategic Communication, Washington State University
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer
- Co - Founder
Brian Swanson was named Chief Operating Officer in 2020. He has 20 years of experience in information technology and administration. In addition to overseeing the company's business operations, Brian's responsibilities include platform design, programming management, software and hardware decisions, troubleshooting and heading up all IT initiatives.
Brian is a co-founder and previous board member of Memphis Technology Foundation, as well as co-founder and steering committee chair of GiveCamp Memphis.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director, Chief Strategist
Carl Moerbe has expansive financial experience and responsibilities in investments and system platforms like Bloomberg, Tradeweb, and Thomas Ho Company. He has provided management and execution for institutional investors ($200mm to $10Bln+), with an emphasis on U.S. Investment Grade Debt, product evaluation, analysis and recommendation, portfolio analytics, simulation modeling development, account consulting, interest rate risk management, and regulatory compliance. He has interacted directly with, executed for, and advised investors including money managers, individual/private Investors, depositories, state and local governments, foreign central banks, foundations and trusts, nonprofits, and insurance companies.
Carl advises accounts on asset allocation, investment products, and portfolio strategies. He has a long history with Morgan Keegan/Raymond James and is the Head of the Strategies Group at Banes Capital.
Education: University of Texas - Austin, BBA
CFA Charterholder 2003-Present
Casey Goodwin joined the firm in 2018 and has shown a keen ability for helping banks and credit unions optimize portfolio yield with SBA and USDA government-guaranteed loans. Casey lives in Memphis and coaches youth football and basketball at Christ Methodist Church. As a retired first baseman at CBU, he keeps his skills sharp playing competitive softball.
Education: BS in Business Administration with a focus in Accounting, Christian Brothers University
Job Titles:
- Communications & Events Manager
Chase is a Memphis native and a University of Memphis Alum. She was a member of Alpha Delta Pi Sorority, Gamma Eta Chapter, where she enjoyed volunteering with Ronald McDonald House Charities. Having worked several years of experience in event planning and management, Chase has a masterful grasp of communication and organizational skills. She worked in logistics at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital before joining our team in October 2021. Chase enjoys staying active, cooking, traveling, and cheering on the Memphis Tigers outside the office.
As Director of Operations, Denice brings a diverse background in international and domestic banking, including Hong Kong Bank in Seattle, WA. Her experiences provides a clear understanding of client needs and allows her to provide detailed loan settlements operational support.
Education: University of Washington
Denise joined our team in 2008. Over the years, she has shown dedication and passion for our company, serving as the CEO's Assistant and Office Manager before coming into her role as the Human Resources Director. A native Memphian, Denise was educated and conditioned for the Financial Industry from a young age while attending the University of Memphis and studying Business Management. In the early years of her career, she served as the Branch Manager Assistant, Operations Manager, and Support Staff Supervisor for two notable financial agencies. During this time, Denise received hands-on Human Resources training in New York. She then attended the Ritz Carlton School of Excellence in Atlanta to become certified and implemented a new operating system for a branch of 80 employees. Denise currently resides in Florida and enjoys co-owning a small craft beer garden with her husband. She enjoys visits from family, friends, and coworkers. In her free time, Denise has served on the National Beach Campaign Clean up and raised capital for Alaqua Animal Refuge and the Panhandle Animal Welfare Society. However, she remains dedicated to her Memphis roots with her love for music, sports, Ronald McDonald House Charities, and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Growing up, Denise's passion for cheer led her to be on the Pom Squad at the University of Memphis and as a Memphis Showboats Cheerleader. Licenses: Series 7, 63, Human Resources Certified Manager domar@banescapital.com Direct: +1 (901) 261-5916
Donna came to the Banes & Hanover team with over 25 years of experience in office administration and management. She started in Settlements, where she learned the ins and outs of working with SBA, USDA, and FSA loans in the secondary market. Now, she provides critical support in Lender Relations, dealing directly with our vast list of lenders. With an eye for detail, Donna is dedicated to providing the best customer service to every one of our clients and lenders.
Donna is a Memphis native. She enjoys spending time with her family and at her home on the Tennessee River, especially during the summer months.
Education: BA, Accounting
Job Titles:
- Financial Analyst I, Whole Loan Trading
- Financial Strategist
Jack joined Banes Capital in July 2021 as an Associate Financial Strategist. His role includes working with banks and credit unions to help optimize their performance and to diversify their portfolios.
Before Banes Capital, Jack worked with the CEO of Husk Investments and Trading. Jack grew up in Charleston, South Carolina. During college he was a member of Ducks Unlimited, the Club baseball team, and Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity, where he served as President. Jack spends his free time improving his golf game, watching sports, and reading.
Education: BS in Finance, Wofford College
Jack Paratore's sales experience began with municipal bonds, government agencies, and mortgage-backed securities. During his time at Morgan Keegan/Raymond James, he worked closely with Public Finance and the Investment Banking division selling proprietary CMOs with emphasis on credit tenant transactions. Jack also focused on taxable and tax-exempt municipal bonds for insurance companies and bond funds.He has supported investment bankers with new proprietary debt deals including CTLs, project finance, and construction-to-permanent deals; and hedge funds and money managers for whole loan packages.
Education: MBA in Finance, Long Island University; BA, Queens College of City College New York (C.C.N.Y)
Jacob joined the Banes Capital family in April 2022. Originally from Bend, Oregon, he has roots deep in the financial industry. While studying at George Fox University, Jacob double majored in Finance and International Business, the latter of which took him to 13 countries worldwide. Through the program, he learned how nations and cultures conduct their business, giving him a broad set of skills and market knowledge that he still uses to great effect.
Throughout his years in the finance industry, Jacob has worked in banking and financial advising and earned his Series 7 and Series 66 licenses. The pandemic market shifts led him to excel at assisting his clients through some of the most stressful situations in the last ten years. Jacob learned how to reassure and alleviate his clients' stressors with incredible customer service and retirement strategies. In 2021, Jacob moved to Memphis with his wife so she could pursue a career in the medical field.
Jacob enjoys traveling worldwide and plans only to continue his adventures. He also enjoys working on classic cars, hunting, fishing, and other outdoor activities with his wife during his off time.
Education: B.S. in International Business & Finance, George Fox University
Job Titles:
- Director of Lender Relations
- Member of Junior League of Memphis
Jennifer maintains client relationships for our clients who bid on SBA and USDA loans. If you need help to originate, buy, sell or service these loans, Jennifer will help you start that process. She has helped facilitate the trade of some of the largest loans in USDA history and wants to help you trade yours.
Jennifer has been in the Finance industry for over 15 years, first at Morgan Keegan, now Raymond James, in Compliance. She learned to understand and work with Regulators and guide others. She transitioned to Branch Management after a while and learned the nuances, the needs, and the wants of Brokers, Banks, and Credit Unions she worked with. She joined Banes Capital Group and Hanover Securities with the drive to serve clients with the utmost professionalism.
Jennifer is a member of Junior League of Memphis and Junior Auxiliary which help guide Women and Children, respectively, in education, becoming leaders, and becoming the best they can be. She also sits on the Memphis Botanical Garden's Board of Directors. Beyond that, she participates in Memphis in May World Championship Barbeque Cooking Contest with her team and makes great food every single year.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director, Mortgage - Backed Securities / Operations & Support
- MBS Trader
Jim Tait is an icon in the MBS world, trading since 1981. Jim spent 27 years of his career as an MBS Trader/Managing Director at Morgan Keegan before the Raymond James/MK merger.
Jim's daily Cherry Picks highlight the best of the bonds. His colorful financial commentary serves as a side of perspective for your morning coffee. As a subject matter expert on Mortgage-Backed Securities, he frequently shares his insights with his 2,000 LinkedIn followers. MBS are his main product line, but Jim also traffics in whole loans.
Joel Banes is a seasoned SBA professional in Memphis, Tennessee with over 25 years of industry experience specializing in the management of fixed income securities, specializing in the SBA 7(a) and USDA market. He is the Founder and CEO of Banes Capital Management, LLC, and served as Managing Director of SBA Pooling and Trading for Shay Financial Services, Inc. for a decade.
He launched broker-dealer Hanover Securities in 2016 with long-time friend and business associate, John Hanover of Los Angeles. He trades SBA, USDA and FSA loans, SBA 7a pools, SBA COOFs as well as MBS's and other traditional fixed income products.
Education: B.S. from the University of Tennessee and studied at the Wharton School of Finance, University of Pennsylvania.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director, Financial Strategies
John Hirt leads the Sales team at Banes Capital Group and Hanover Securities, which has tripled in size and gross revenue during his tenure. Committed to product knowledge, he leads a daily sales call where he and traders communicate product knowledge and relevant market conditions. Strategists are expected to act as consultants to bank and credit union C-suite leaders, helping them optimize their portfolio. John leads by example with focus, energy, and excellence, and these traits he brings to and requires of the organization creates a professional environment for everyone involved. He sits on the Leadership Team of Banes Capital Group & Hanover Securities helping the companies grow to their full potential.
John has over 25 years of industry experience including his time as Managing Director and National Sales Manager for Raymond James. While there, he served on the senior management committee for the Fixed Income Capital Markets group. Prior to Raymond James, he was a Managing Director and National Sales Manager for Morgan Keegan. During the sale of Morgan Keegan to Raymond James in 2012, John served on the transition and integration team for the two firms. He was Morgan Keegan's top producer in Institutional Fixed Income in 2011 and was one of the highest producing brokers in the history of the firm. John joined Morgan Keegan in 1996, having worked for two years prior at First Tennessee's Bond Division, achieving top 20 status in his second year. John first started his career involved in M&A activity with WSGP and later Aurora Capital Partners in Century City, California.
Education: BS, Mechanical Engineering, Geneva College; EMBA, Emory University
John joined Memphis Capital with an increasingly notable 30-year career with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) in Washington, D.C. His service includes over ten years as Division Chief of the Secondary Market for the 7(a) and 504 programs. His policy experience in lending and investor programs includes program delivery of the sale and securitization of government-guaranteed securities, negotiating terms for secured credit facilities, and investment oversight of the SBA Master Reserve Fund. His tenure at the SBA has included work as a Financial Analyst for a venture capital unit within the SBA Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program. Before the SBA, John worked at a distinguished financial firm in Chicago, Illinois.
Education: M.B.A. in Finance, DePaul University. John holds a CFA.
Job Titles:
- Client Services Associate
Hailing from Memphis, Katie attended the University of Tennessee - Knoxville, and Union University, completing a Masters of Business Administration. She volunteered at the Boys & Girls Club of Memphis and Manorhouse Assisted Living throughout her college career. Before graduating, she joined the Banes/Hanover family to test her knowledge and skills, and she's been an asset ever since.
When she is not working, you can find her practicing hot yoga, trying new cuisines around town, or sifting through used books and records. Go Vols!
Education: Sociology with focus in Criminal Justice, UT Knoxville, MBA, Union University
Kevin Bentley has spent most of his 30-year financial career in the securities industry. Prior to working with Hanover Securities, he was with Banes Capital Group as Director of Compliance and at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney as financial advisor and complex risk officer.
Education: B.B.A. in accounting from the University of Memphis, M.B.A. in Finance from Christian Brothers University.
Lee Olswanger joined our team in September 2020. He started his career working as an analyst at UBS Group AG in Nashville, TN, where he assisted client advisors and portfolio managers. After a few years with UBS, Lee moved back home to Memphis, TN, to accept a position as a financial advisor at Merrill Lynch.
He is active in the community and serves on the board of several local organizations, including the Memphis Jewish Community Center and the Tennessee Chapter of the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Whole Loan Trading
Maddy joined our whole loan trading team after interning with us in the lender relations department, all during her final year of schooling. Her affinity for analysis, whether it be macroeconomic or loan level, and her will to understand others make her effective in understanding and meeting the needs of any financial institution. In her new role, Maddy coordinates with strategists, traders, and a variety of financial institutions active in the secondary market to facilitate whole loan and participation trades.
During school, Maddy remained busy by writing economic commentary for the Banes Capital Group website and working as a research assistant for her university's economics department.
Education: University of Connecticut, summa cum laude, BA in Economics, BA in Political Science
Job Titles:
- Lender Relations Associate
Margaret Echols is a native of Memphis, Tennessee. Her career in finance started right out of high school at the National Bank of Commerce in 1980 as an Account Information Clerk.
In 1985, Margaret joined Morgan Keegan as a data entry clerk. Within a couple of weeks, her role switched to Assistant to the Municipal Trading Desk, giving her an increasing repertoire of skills. After a few years, she became a valuable part of the Secondary Market/Repo Trading Desk. In June of 2012, Margaret assisted with establishing the Secondary Market Trading Desk and operated the Secondary Market Operations Department for Stifel Nicolaus/Stifel Bank and Trust.
Margaret joined Banes Capital Group in November of 2020, bringing 41 plus years of Fixed Income Capital Market/Banking experience and significant knowledge of Secondary Market products. Margaret is versatile, self-motivated, and creative. She firmly believes that life and family are priceless.
Marie Fitts joins us after a long tenure at Morgan Keegan/Raymond James. She advanced quickly from an entry-level operations position to vice president in fixed income sales platforms, using her diverse industry training and a combination of communicative, restorative, and analytical skill sets.
Marie has comprehensive expertise in fixed income securities operations, clearing, trading, management, and sales. Her diverse product knowledge includes US government and agency debt; US-denominated corporate debt, municipal bonds, and small business administration (SBA) pools, with an extensive background in mortgage-backed specified pools, To-Be-Announced (TBA) forward mortgage securities, pool information, and pool allocations.
Education: University of Tennessee - Martin
Job Titles:
- Education
- Financial Strategist
Mario Ovelar may be a recent addition to our team - but with years of experience in banking and insurance, he's well-versed in sales and the art of relationship-building. A former soccer and basketball player, Mario stays active in Memphis' adult leagues and volunteers his time in the community as a youth basketball coach. He was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, and speaks fluent Spanish.
Education: Psychology, The University of Memphis
Matt Ihrke has been a professional in the fixed income markets for 24 years. Beginning his career in Memphis, Tennessee, Matt traded over-the-counter Callable Agencies, and later Corporates, for Morgan Keegan. In 2003, Matt took an opportunity with RBC Dain to trade new-issue Callable Agencies before returning home to Chicago in 2005 to build out the Agency desk at Incapital.
As the business grew, Matt's role transitioned into Risk Management of fixed income product groups including Agencies, Corporates, CMOs, MBS, and Structured Products, and he earned his Financial Risk Manager Certification (FRM) from the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP). Most recently, Matt has been consulting on the lending side of Mergers and Acquisitions in the Registered Investment Advisor space. He lives in Northbrook, Illinois.
Matt Monaco brings more than 25 years of experience in the government-guaranteed loan sector to his role, which he's held since 2019. Primarily a trader, Matt has participated in loan settlements, pool securitizations, analytics, loan purchases, and sales. He has been instrumental in three start-up operations.
Education: B.A. in Economics and Business Administration from Rhodes College and an M.B.A. from the University of Memphis.
Job Titles:
- Director of Strategist Training and Support
Nancy focuses on developing and implementing our sales and product educational sessions. Her goal is to improve the organization's product knowledge and selling skills and drive better processes and outcomes. As a long-term Marketer, she is focused on delivering positive ROI and an exceptional customer experience. She's highly collaborative and works across different teams to design and sell plans to key stakeholders and follow up with crisp execution. She's marketed for quality brands like FedEx, Cooper Lighting, Art.com, Nationwide Insurance, Mimeo.com and IRIS Orchestra.
She is an integral part of making your experience working with Banes Capital Group and Hanover Securities a pleasant business experience. She's now moved to the Training and Support role, in which she assists John Hirt in the onboarding process, account management, and other crucial tasks on the strategies floor.
Education: BA, Colgate University
Paul joined Banes Capital with 20 years of Technology, Finance, and Luxury Automobile Retail experience. He covered Dell clients ranging from High-Frequency Trading companies to startup "Silicon Alley" businesses in New York and internationally in Southern England. Paul managed sales and finance at Lexus of Memphis. He is excited to be part of the Financial Strategy Group at Banes and assist banks and credit unions that need protection against rising rates and that need to generate strong yield performance.
Education: BS in Business Administration, University of Tennessee Knoxville
Job Titles:
- Financial Strategist
- in 2021 As an Associate Financial Strategist
Sam joined Banes Capital in 2021 as an Associate Financial Strategist. His role includes working with banks and credit unions to help optimize their performances and diversify their portfolios.
Before Banes Capital, Sam worked in sales and support roles generating supply chain efficiencies for US domestic transportation and logistics customers. He also introduced, trained, and supported customers with industry specific software applications. Sam succeeded in building a reputation for thorough product knowledge and exceptional customer communication. Sam maintains his enthusiasm for soccer as a member of the Men's Soccer League. He was a four-year collegiate soccer player at CBC, Gulf South Conference Champion 2012, 2014 NCAA Tournament participant, and 2015 All GSC First Team and 2015 D2CCA All-South Region Team.
Education: Christian Brothers University, Bachelor of Business Administration
Scott joined Memphis Capital in March of 2023, bringing over 25 years of industry experience as an Institutional Fixed Income Salesperson and Trader. Scott started his career at American National Bank in the bond department. Through subsequent acquisitions, he was part of the formation of SunTrust Capital Markets and participated in monthly strategy meetings for the bank's portfolio. After, Scott moved to the Institutional Fixed Income group for a notable organization in the business. He was one of only two invited to join the establishment's Institutional Fixed Income Division from the AmSouth Capital Markets merger. He spent 10 years as a Fixed Income Sales professional and enjoyed working with the bank's largest customers. Scott has numerous client relationships spanning Tier-1 money managers, insurance companies, depository institutions, trust departments, municipalities, and corporations. In 2013, he launched the Institutional Fixed Income business for a regional brokerage firm, where he stayed until joining the team at Memphis Capital.
He is Executive Advisor for FoxMark International, a transcontinental business incubator based in Tokyo, where he was born and raised. Scott used to serve on the Widow's Harvest Ministries board. He also co-founded LAUNCH Chattanooga, a non-profit organization delivering entrepreneurship training to adults and high schools in underserved communities.
Education: B.A., Business Administration, Covenant College
Job Titles:
- Managing Director, Whole Loan Trading
A 24-year capital markets veteran, Stephen Bone has worked with some of the best fixed-income and loan capital markets firms in the country including FTN Financial, Morgan Keegan, Raymond James, Cantor Fitzgerald, and Bear Stearns.
After sensing a need for focused, analytics-based trading advice among his bank and credit union clients, Stephen founded Resi Consulting, LLC, a firm focused on providing fee-based loan capital markets advice to financial institutions across the country, and most recently he teamed with friend and colleague Joel Banes to found BCG Loan Trading, the whole loan trading desk at Banes Capital Group. Stephen lives in Oxford, MS with his wife and two daughters.
Education: B.S., Finance; M.B.A.; Arkansas State University
Steven Shelton joined Banes Capital Group with experience in both management and sales. He specializes in assisting institutional clients in managing loan-to-deposit ratios through the purchase of SBA and USDA government-guaranteed loans and pools with our affiliate firm, Hanover Securities. He works tirelessly to be the knowledge base for many of our team members, and is always learning more about the changing markets.
Education: B.S. in Business Administration with a focus in Accounting; MBA from Christian Brothers University