Medical Lending Team

Keith Merklin joined Live Oak Bank in early 2010, bringing with him over 14 years of experience as a commercial lending officer. He has spent the majority of his career working with small healthcare practices. During his career, Keith has originated more than $500,000,000 in loans for dentists and other medical professionals who were acquiring a practice or property, consolidating debt or expanding their businesses.

Keith never slows down, even when he’s not working. He enjoys time with his family, playing golf, running and cheering on his local professional sports teams. He is a graduate of the University of San Francisco.

In January 2010, I left one of the largest banks in the country to come onboard with Live Oak Bank to build the dental lending program. My career change was motivated by a desire to better serve my customers. I knew there had to be a more efficient, customer-focused process for a bank to originate and close a small business loan, where the customer didn’t get lost in the loan progression. For most banks, it’s a numbers game. They need to grow and turn a profit to satisfy their real customer – the shareholder. At Live Oak Bank, our guiding principle is to treat every customer as if they are our only customer because our growth and success is dependent upon theirs. 

As a Loan Officer, Mike Stanton originates new loans, packages SBA loans, and evaluates new loan applications and lines of credit. Before joining Live Oak Bank, Stanton worked for Vine Street Financial, a division of BB&T, as an SBA Credit Analyst and Lender. His duties included the initial underwriting of new loan proposals, assisting lenders with different SBA programs, reviewing corporate tax returns, and other responsibilities. Stanton majored in Finance and graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Georgia in 2005.

Stanton moved to Atlanta from New Jersey when he was 14 years old. The area must have made a good impression on him because he married his high school sweetheart and even named their dog Georgia. When he isn’t hard at work, Stanton enjoys fishing, hiking, mountain biking, golf, movies and spending time with his wife and their dog.

My first job out of college was with 4 of the founders of Live Oak Bank. At that time we were part of another lending institution. When they told me they were leaving to start their own bank, I immediately knew I wanted to be a part of it. Live Oak Bank was founded on the principle of providing exceptional customer service and doing away with the Bureaucratic red tape and processes that bog down large banks and making the financing process torturous for the borrower. We’d experienced that type of environment working at a large bank, and the founders had the intuition to see that the system was broken and recognized that there was a better way to serve the customer. I personally enjoy my interaction with our clients; working directly with them to grow their businesses and accomplish their career goals is why I come to work every day. It’s a truly unique organization, and it provides me with the tools and resources necessary to go out there and deliver an exceptional customer experience, from the beginning of the application process all the way through the loan closing and beyond. 

JP joined the Live Oak team in late 2010 where he initially spent much of his time educating young professionals about financing and how to best maintain and grow their clinics. As a financial evangelist for the bank, JP had the wonderful opportunity to work closely with and advise hundreds of aspiring young dentists and veterinarians.  Assisting healthcare professionals achieve the “American Dream” of ownership is truly a passion of JP’s. He now gets that opportunity everyday as a loan officer that works exclusively with dentists.

JP is a native son of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. He attended the University of Kentucky and graduated magna cum laude in Communications in 2002. JP was also a member of the University of Kentucky men’s basketball team for all four years of his college career. Upon leaving college, JP served as a Director within the Kentucky State Government Commerce Cabinet.  JP has also pioneered some new and exciting endeavors.  He founded “In Pursuit” in 2006 and served as its President. In Pursuit is dedicated to sharing success principles with youth and delivering a message of hope, possibility and inspiration. JP founded “GTE Basketball” in 2005 and served as its President. GTE is dedicated to providing basketball instruction, resources and tools to aid young athletes in reaching their full potential.