FDIC: Arkansas Bank Deposits Reach $56.5B

Tyler Vance

Bank deposits in Arkansas grew by 5 percent in the 12 months that ended June 30, according to the annual summary of deposits released Monday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., a pace somewhat slower than the 5.4 percent growth in bank deposits nationally.

Total deposits statewide reached a new record of $56.5 billion even as the number of separate bank charters and branch locations continued to decline.

Arvest Bank of Fayetteville, which achieved the top position in the state as measured by deposits in 2007, continued to stretch its lead by adding almost $523 million in deposits in a single year. Only 18 other banks in the state have that much in total deposits.

But an even bigger gain — $785 million — pushed Bank of America, the North Carolina powerhouse, from the fourth position in Arkansas in mid-2014 to No. 2 this year. BOA leapfrogged over Regions Bank of Birmingham, Alabama, and First Security Bank of Searcy. Despite a 4 percent drop in deposits, Regions retained a small lead on First Security, which continued to make deposit gains.

Bank of the Ozarks also experienced huge deposit growth: $605 million, up almost 22 percent — and all of that and more was gained at the publicly traded bank’s main office in Little Rock.

Tyler Vance, chief operating officer for Bank of the Ozarks, said the bank has been adding thousands of new checking accounts in Arkansas. But the whopping growth in deposits at the main office has more to do with winning bids on public deposits from state agencies and municipalities across the state, he said.

“With loan growth and additional loans being made, deposits tend to follow,” Vance said Tuesday morning.

The FDIC’s summary of deposits is an accounting taken at midyear by the government agency that insures bank deposits. It is not a holistic report card on the health of a bank or of the banking industry, but it is the only official report that provides Arkansas-specific trend data for multistate banks like Arvest, Regions and Bank of America.

Thanks to the acquisition of Delta Trust & Bank and the final merger of its sister charters, Simmons First National Bank of Pine Bluff moved up a spot to No. 5, pushing Centennial Bank of Conway to No. 6. Both actually saw slight losses in deposits inside Arkansas while growing total deposits through acquisitions outside the state.

Simmons contributed to the contraction in the number of separate bank charters, both in-state and out-of-state, that operated in Arkansas: 129 as of June 30, down from 137 a year earlier. The number of bank offices continued a post-recession contraction, down by 23 to 1,365.

Banks Ranked by Deposits in Arkansas

	Institution Name	State HQ	No. of Branches	2015 Deposits	Change in Deposits (2014-15)	Market Share (June 2015)	Market Share Change (2014-15)
1	Arvest Bank	AR	118	$7,158,675	7.88%	12.67%	2.76%
2	Bank of America	NC	23	$4,023,209	24.25%	7.12%	18.27%
3	Regions Bank	AL	96	$3,846,335	-4.09%	6.81%	-8.59%
4	First Security Bank	AR	78	$3,618,254	6.28%	6.40%	1.11%
5	Simmons First National Bank^*	AR	84	$3,532,611	-3.85%	6.25%	-8.49%
6	Centennial Bank	AR	85	$3,452,949	-0.98%	6.11%	-5.71%
7	Bank of the Ozarks	AR	80	$3,365,820	21.89%	5.96%	16.18%
8	BancorpSouth Bank	MS	49	$1,637,148	-0.63%	2.90%	-5.23%
9	IberiaBank	LA	32	$1,246,586	6.67%	2.21%	1.84%
10	Bear State Bank^**	AR	41	$1,153,934	-1.73%	2.04%	-6.42%
11	U.S. Bank	OH	42	$943,190	6.96%	1.67%	1.83%
12	First National Bank of Fort Smith	AR	18	$940,342	3.34%	1.66%	-1.78%
13	Farmers Bank & Trust (Magnolia)^#	AR	20	$904,758	1.20%	1.60%	-3.61%
14	Southern Bancorp Bank	AR	24	$763,067	2.40%	1.35%	-2.17%
15	First National Bank (Paragould)	AR	13	$749,597	21.96%	1.33%	16.67%
16	First Community Bank (Batesville)	AR	12	$690,748	11.27%	1.22%	6.09%
17	Wells Fargo Bank	SD	3	$600,507	0.30%	1.06%	-4.50%
18	Chambers Bank	AR	18	$578,567	8.80%	1.02%	3.03%
19	First Arkansas Bank & Trust	AR	22	$543,334	3.08%	0.96%	-2.04%
20	First Financial Bank	AR	7	$476,813	-3.23%	0.84%	-8.70%

^*Merged charters of Simmons First Bank of Russellville, Simmons First Bank of South Arkansas and Simmons First Bank of El Dorado on Aug. 9, 2014, and acquired Delta Trust & Bank on Oct. 25, 2014. 2014 data combined for comparison.

^**Formerly First National Bank of Hot Springs; charter merged with First Federal Bank of Harrison and Heritage Bank of Jonesboro on Feb. 13, 2015. 2014 data combined for comparison.

^#Acquired 1st Bank of Texarkana, Texas, which had six branches in Arkansas, on Jan. 17, 2015. 2014 data combined for comparison.