On July 6, 2018, Centier Bank Vice President, Mortgage Production Manager Terry Bley retired after a 34-year career that saw him put countless individuals into their homes through the mortgage process.
In his six-plus years in his role with Centier’s Mortgages Department, he helped oversee an expansion of talent and market share, with the department growing to employ over 30 loan officers; only 10 were on board when he began. The department has grown a great deal in a short amount of time, something Bley credits as the result of great leadership and teamwork between departments at Centier.
He has also played a role in changing the dynamic of how the organization ventures into newer markets, which has aided in the expansion of Centier throughout Michiana, into Lafayette, Fort Wayne, and the Greater Indianapolis region.
“Terry has brought great leadership to our department and is leaving us with a better, smarter program that will lead to years of success,” explained Bryan Traylor, Senior Vice President of Residential Lending. “We wish him success in all that he does and thank him for all that he has done for the Centier family.”
In a career that began in loan servicing with Gary National Bank, the lifelong region native rose through the ranks of other financial institutions before joining Centier in 2012. Since joining, the department has achieved sales records each year and has continued to move the bar in terms of total home sales.
“It was always fun to commemorate those milestones each year and have some fun,” said Bley. “This is a great group of people here who are very helpful and work together very well. It isn’t like that everywhere, and our organization is amazing in terms of finding ways to make it work.”
Through all of the successes of his career, Bley still holds dear the idea that, at the end of the day, he is part of the process that helps make dreams come true: putting people into positions of home ownership.
“Overall, from 1974 when I first started until now, in this business, there is still a great satisfaction in helping to put someone in a home and achieve that dream of homeownership,” explained Bley. “That sense of pride in finding people a home is still strong.”
Bley was a longtime member of the Lake County Officials Association and has refereed high school and NCAA football games for over 30 years. He is also an active member of the John Purdue Club. Upon his retirement, Bley, father of two, plans to continue to travel the world with his wife, Gail.
