--- title: "B. Scot Lenoir: founder and long-time chairman of Evolve" language: en canonical: https://dossiertwist.com/dossiers/evolve-bank-trust/people/scot-lenoir/ as_of: 2026-10-16 keywords: ["Evolve Bank & Trust","Evolve Bancorp","Synapse Financial Technologies","Synapse Brokerage","Banking-as-a-Service","Open Banking","cease-and-desist order","Federal Reserve","Arkansas State Bank Department","FBO accounts","Yotta Technologies","Lineage Bank","AMG National Trust","Scot Lenoir","Robert Hartheimer","data breach","MDL 3127","Ankura reconciliation","CFPB","Coastal Community Bank"] --- # B. Scot Lenoir: founder and long-time chairman of Evolve - Also known as: Scot Lenoir · Bryan Scot Lenoir **Question.** Who is B. Scot Lenoir, and what is documented about his roles before and at Evolve? **Answer.** Lenoir led First Mercantile Trust, his family's Memphis trust company, until its 2000 sale to National Commerce, then raised the capital for Evolve Bancorp and organised Evolve Financial Group, which set out in 2005 to buy the bank's holding company. He chaired the bank until July 2024 and has since described himself as its founder. He and his father were sued in 2002 over 401(k) fees in a case reported as settled, and a Barbados company record lists a director of the same name, an identity the record does not establish. ## From First Mercantile to Evolve - Analysis: According to the bank's 2024 kit, B. Scot Lenoir rose to chief executive and president of First Mercantile Trust Company, a financial institution with more than $3 billion in assets, and arranged its sale to a publicly traded company; after the sale in 2000 he raised the initial capital for Evolve Bancorp, of which he is founder and chief executive. The Federal Reserve approved National Commerce Bancorporation's acquisition of FMT Holding Company on June 20, 2000, and a regional business publication reported in 2005 that his family had sold First Mercantile Trust, which managed more than $3 billion of pension and profit-sharing assets, to National Commerce Bancorp. In 2004 SunTrust, merging with National Commerce Financial, applied to acquire First Mercantile Trust Company of Memphis. A fintech industry newsletter describes First Mercantile as the firm of Lenoir's father, Kenneth Lenoir, who in 2006 was also listed as an executive vice president of Evolve Bank & Trust. [src-005] [src-033] [src-093] [src-106] [src-015] [src-025] - Documented: The Federal Reserve's H.2 release for June 18 to 24, 2000 records approval on June 20, 2000 of National Commerce Bancorporation's application to acquire FMT Holding Company, and thereby engage in trust company activities and employee benefits consulting. A 2004 Federal Reserve notice shows SunTrust Banks, Inc., in its merger with National Commerce Financial Corporation, applying to acquire First Mercantile Trust Company and FMT Capital Management, Inc. of Memphis. [src-093] [src-106] - Qualification: The 2000 release does not use the name First Mercantile; FMT Holding Company is matched to it by the abbreviation, city and year of the sale reported elsewhere. - Attributed: A fintech industry newsletter reports that Kenneth Lenoir, whose firm First Mercantile took over administration of a set of pension plans in January 1994, is the father of Evolve's founder Scot Lenoir; First Mercantile and Kenneth Lenoir were later named as defendants in an earlier suit over those plans, which was dismissed after the parties settled. The Arkansas regulator's report with data as of June 30, 2006 lists Kenneth Lenoir as an executive vice president of Evolve Bank & Trust. [src-015] [src-025] - Qualification: The family relationship and the earlier case are reported by the newsletter; the case papers are not in the retained record. - Analysis: In December 2002 Corky's Bar-B-Q and its owners sued National Bank of Commerce and First Mercantile Trust, both subsidiaries of National Commerce Financial, together with First Mercantile's chief executive Kenneth Lenoir and its president Bryan Scot Lenoir, alleging breaches of fiduciary duty and racketeering through undisclosed fees on 401(k) plans and seeking $700 million. These are the plaintiffs' allegations as reported by the press, not findings, and the complaint itself was not retained. National Commerce Financial said the suit contained 'grossly inaccurate assertions' and 'grossly exaggerated damages' and that the parties would vigorously defend it, and a First Mercantile spokesman denied the complaint's statement that Kenneth Lenoir had been terminated. A fintech industry newsletter later reported that the suit was settled for $18 million; no settlement document was retained. The newsletter also reports that First Mercantile and Kenneth Lenoir were named in an earlier pension-plan case that was dismissed after the parties settled. [src-095] [src-015] [src-111] [src-025] ## Founder and chairman - Analysis: Lenoir organised Evolve Financial Group, formed in January 2004, which in 2005 sought to buy Parkin Bancorp, the holding company of First State Bank. A financial-data aggregator lists him as founder, chairman, president and chief executive of Evolve Financial Group and of Evolve Bancorp, former chairman of the bank, and former head of American Trust Co. (Tennessee) and AFS Investment Advisors; those last two roles are undated and do not appear in the other retained records. He chaired the bank for about 20 years; a fintech industry newsletter reported in February 2025 that he had left the chair in July 2024 and now called himself founder, and a bank spokesperson told the newsletter he remained involved in day-to-day operations. In October 2024 he spoke for the bank as its founder when it announced payments to Synapse Brokerage end users, criticising 'the flawed ledgers from Synapse'. [src-033] [src-055] [src-011] [src-024] [src-038] [src-008] - Attributed: A fintech industry newsletter reported on February 4, 2025 that Scot Lenoir, chairman for 20 years, had stepped down from that role 'last July', that is, in July 2024, and now described himself as the bank's founder. [src-011] [src-024] - Qualification: Newsletter account citing a bank spokesperson; the regulator's report with data as of June 30, 2025 no longer lists Lenoir as a director. - Response: An Evolve spokesperson told the newsletter that he remained involved in day-to-day operations. ## An unresolved offshore record - Analysis: A published database of offshore-company records, using leaked records and Barbados registry data, lists Evolve Assignments Ltd., incorporated in Barbados on May 26, 2009, with six directors including persons recorded as 'Lenoir Bryan Scott' and 'Stafford William Scott', both from May 26, 2009 to September 10, 2014. The database gives no address, date of birth or other identifier for them, so the record does not establish whether they are the bank's founder and its former chief executive; the database's publisher states that many people share names and that inclusion does not suggest illegal or improper conduct. No other retained record mentions the company. [src-022] [src-021] ## Sources - [src-005] Company statement source · src-005 - [src-033] Media source · src-033 - [src-093] H.2 release, week ending June 24, 2000, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 2000-06-24 - [src-106] Formations of, acquisitions by, and mergers of bank holding companies (June 25, 2004), Office of the Federal Register, 2004-06-25 - [src-015] Media source · src-015 - [src-025] Report of the Bank Commissioner of Arkansas 2006, Arkansas Bank Commissioner (FRASER archive, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis), 2006 - [src-095] Media source · src-095 - [src-111] Media source · src-111 - [src-055] Other source · src-055 - [src-011] Media source · src-011 - [src-024] Report of the Bank Commissioner of the State of Arkansas 2025, Arkansas State Bank Department (Bank Commissioner), 2025-10 - [src-038] Company statement source · src-038 - [src-008] Company statement source · src-008 - [src-022] Research source · src-022 - [src-021] Research source · src-021