The Wilmington locations of North State Bank and its mortgage lending affiliate have each made a recent hire.
 
David Kesler has joined North State Bank as vice president and commercial banker, serving the Wilmington market, bank officials announced recently.
 
Kesler, a native of Winston-Salem and graduate of University of North Carolina Wilmington, began his banking career in 1990 with First Citizens Bank. He is active in a number of community organizations, according to the release.
 
“David is a natural ‘people person,’” Sabrina Stephens, senior vice president and market president for North State Bank in Wilmington, said in the release. “I know he will be a strong advocate for our bank in the Wilmington market.”
 
Founded in 2000, North State Bank is a full-service community bank serving Wake and New Hanover counties through seven full-service offices.
 
A recent news release from the bank’s mortgage division announced that North State Bank Mortgage has hired Kelly Stevens as a mortgage loan officer in Wilmington.
 
“[Stevens] is a seasoned loan officer and well recognized in the market place. His primary focus will be serving Bald Head and Southport, North Carolina: markets that North State Bank Mortgage is eager to break into. I could not imagine anyone more suited to represent our company with this endeavor,” Ken Sykes, president of North State Bank Mortgage, said in the release.
 
Stevens, a UNCW graduate, has 27 years’ experience in the mortgage industry, most recently with Rivers Community Bank, Sykes said in the release, adding that Stevens has been involved with several community organizations, including Wilmington East Rotary Club and the UNCW Alumni Association. He also served as the past president of the N.C. Association of Mortgage Professionals.