25 Failed Banks Attract Bids From Arkansas

The misses far outnumbered the hits among Arkansas lenders in the 2012 round of bidding on failed banks around the nation.

Of the 51 bank failures last year, at least 25 drew attention from Arkansas financial institutions, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

But only three resulted in winning bids by Arkansas lenders.

Simmons First National Bank of Pine Bluff completed two FDIC-assisted transactions ($282.3 million-asset Truman Bank of St. Louis and $200.6 million-asset Excel Bank of Sedalia, Mo.), and Centennial Bank of Conway completed one ($225.5 million-asset Heritage Bank of Florida in Lutz).

Little Rock’s Bank of the Ozarks made 18 known bids on failed banks during the year.

All were unsuccessful.

The FDIC only reveals the names of unsuccessful bidders if there is more than one unsuccessful bidder.

Among the lender’s known 2012 bids, Bank of the Ozarks tried to enter five new states.

The $3.9 billion-asset lender made attempts to enter the Missouri and Illinois markets twice and once each in Tennessee, Michigan and Kansas.

Arvest Bank of Fayetteville joined Bank of the Ozarks and Simmons in making an unsuccessful bid for $110 million-asset Heartland Bank of Leawood, Kan.

It was the only 2012 bid for the $14.2 billion-asset lender revealed in FDIC documents.

Which states captured the most bidding attention from Arkansas lenders last year?

Six Georgia banks led the way, followed by five in Florida, three each in Tennessee and Missouri and two in Illinois. One bank each in Michigan, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kansas and Oklahoma drew bids from Arkansas lenders.

Here’s a roster of known unsuccessful bids during 2012 by Bank of the Ozarks, Centennial and Simmons: