The firm continues its round of hires to senior appointments.

Argent Trust Company, the Louisiana-based firm that has expanded with a number of hires recently, has appointed Deanna Rankin as chief compliance officer.

Rankin, who is based in San Antonio and reports to Charles Wade, takes charge of all regulatory compliance issues for the company. She is a Certified Fiduciary and Investment Risk Specialist with more than 30 years of industry experience, including 29 years at Frost Bank, where she was most recently head of fiduciary audit.

She is succeeding Kim Breithaupt, who is being promoted to another role in the company. Breithaupt previously was CCO and was responsible for compliance and audit-related duties. Rankin will be spending all her time on compliance and not splitting duties as Breithaupt previously did

“She is a much-respected member of the Texas trust industry who has brought a unique fiduciary insight to her board membership roles,” Wade said. “ Her strategic advice and risk assessment experience will also be a tremendous asset to our back-office operations management," he continued.

Rankin has been a resident of San Antonio since 1989. She is a long-time member and past board member of the Fiduciary and Investment Risk Management Association and is board secretary for San Antonio Pets Alive!, an animal welfare organization. Rankin received her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Abilene Christian University in Dallas. In addition to earning her CFIRS designation, she has received specialized training from the Institute of Internal Auditors Quality Assurance, Texas Bankers Association Compliance School and Texas Bankers Association Trust School.

Among recent moves, Argent appointed Mollie Seymour as senior vice president/trust officer in its Birmingham office. Seymour manages personal and charitable relationships. A few weeks prior to this, Argent named Mark Milton as senior vice president of institutional services, based in its New Orleans office. He reports directly to Argent chief executive Kyle McDonald. (In Seymour’s case, she reports to Ken Alderman, president of Argent Trust.) And in March, Argent appointed Sue Turnage to run the newly-opened office in Fort Worth, Texas.

See a related story about the firm and its strategy, here.