senior vice president mortgage area manager
Melissa Bernard took on the role as senior vice president mortgage area manager at Truist in December 2019. She began her mortgage career in 1981, working part-time for Alliance Mortgage Company. In 1986, she left Alliance to co-found BancMortgage Financial Corporation, which grew to more than $3 billion a year in sales and was ranked among the top 10 lenders in Atlanta for 10 consecutive years. Two years after SunTrust Bank acquired the company, Bernard was asked to develop the strategic alliance division for SunTrust Mortgage. In 2009, the division became the fastest growing entity within SunTrust Mortgage, achieving more than 100 successful partnerships and production in excess of $500 million a year. Bernard was promoted to mortgage production manager for Atlanta in 2011 and developed a robust relocation program and produced approximately $350 million in relocation loans. In 2015, she became mortgage area manager for Georgia, responsible for overseeing production managers, business development and relocation expansion, in addition to recruiting, coaching, and onboarding new hires and organizing volunteer events. Bernard was listed in MPAm’s Elite Women 2018.
