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With Converted Charter, Helena National Plans Name Change, Bigger TerritoryLock Icon

2 min read

Helena National Bank is no more.

The 78-year-old bank completed the conversion of its national charter to an Arkansas state bank charter on Thursday, and is now officially known as HNB Bank. But that’s just temporary, according to the very enthusiastic new CEO, John O. Moore.

A permanent new brand — one that is not geographically limited to Helena or even to Arkansas — is in the works, Moore said, complaining that all of the best names are already taken.

Moore, accompanied by VP Vance St. Columbia, stopped to visit with the Whispers staff after wrapping up the charter conversion. Both are Helena natives, although Moore intends to commute from Fayetteville while his kids are in school there, and are nearly giddy over the opportunities for growth presented by new leadership, new regulators and new branding.

“Coming back to Helena National has as much to do with wanting to contribute to our community as it does with the bottom line,” said Moore, who started his new job on Sept. 24. “We want to go beyond charitable and civic contributions. We want to have an economic impact.”

West, East, North
Locally owned HNB Bank had $182.8 million in assets as of June 30, with four offices in Phillips County and one each in Marion (Crittenden County) and Wynne (Cross County). It earned $654,000 last year under the previous president, Tommie Shackelford Jr., who continues as an executive and director of the bank.

Most importantly at this point, it has $26.5 million in tier 1 capital and a board of directors (including St. Columbia) that is ready to invest in growth.

Little Rock seemed like the first, most obvious new market to tackle, said Moore, who most recently served as president of Chambers Bank’s northwest region. That is, he acknowledged, the same growth strategy adopted by two other Delta banks, the much larger Simmons Bank of Pine Bluff and the even smaller Armor Bank of Forrest City.

But nothing is firm, nor is Moore looking strictly to the west.

“Where Helena sits, going east is a natural,” he said. “We all believe there are opportunities in Memphis, Germantown, Olive Branch, Southhaven.”

Maybe even north toward Pocahontas, he mused.

“Small banks are having to realize that you have to think beyond what you’ve been doing for decades,” Moore said.

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