First Arkansas Bank & Trust

Jacksonville Lender Remains Home-Grown, Family-Owned Enterprise

First Arkansas Bank & Trust has come a long way since opening its doors in Jacksonville in 1949.

The well-capitalized bank ranked No. 1 in the nation among banks its size for return on assets in 1998 and ranked No. 2 in 1999.

“Even though we have an abnormally high capital, we do a good job with cost-containment, and we know our market well,” said Larry Wilson, the bank president and CEO.

First Arkansas generated a profit of more than $5.5 million on total assets of $212 million during 2000.

In addition to banking operations, trust department assets total $75 million, and the mortgage company holds 400 loans worth more than $35 million.

The bank, Jacksonville’s first, was founded as Jacksonville State Bank by a small group of investors. The Wilson family now represents the bank’s sole ownership group.

The name was changed to First Jacksonville in 1964 and First Arkansas in 1998. The bank has thrived amid the ripples caused by bank consolidation.

A staff of 135 works in eight locations – three at Jacksonville, two each at Cabot and the Little Rock Air Force Base, and one at Gravel Ridge. The branches are augmented by a network of 11 automated-teller machines.

The bank weathered fire in May 1993 that destroyed its main location, which was replaced 11 months later with a three-story, 45,000-SF headquarters.

First Arkansas is active in civic and charitable organizations, giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to a variety of Jacksonville projects.

“We’ve given back to the community consistently and perhaps more than any other entity,” Wilson said. “We feel a very strong commitment to do that because when the community grows, we grow.”