Candace Franks to Retire as State Bank Commissioner

Candace Franks

Candace Franks, commissioner of Arkansas state banks for the past 13 years, announced on Wednesday that she will retire on Oct. 1 after 40 years with the State Bank Department.

“When I began working for the State Bank Department our institutions held approximately 7 billion dollars in total assets. Now upon my retirement, our institutions hold more than 123 billion dollars in total assets,” Franks said in a news release announcing her plans. “We have built an outstanding banking industry in Arkansas which continues to serve our local communities and promote the economic well-being of all Arkansans as well as citizens across our country where Arkansas’ banks operate.”

She expressed her appreciation for Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s support of the department. He has not identified her successor.

Franks joined the department in 1980 as general counsel and was named deputy bank commissioner in 1995. She was appointed commissioner by Gov. Mike Beebe in 2007, becoming the first woman and the first career regulator in the position.

She is now the longest serving commissioner in the department’s 107-year history, having been appointed to a fourth term by Hutchinson in June 2019.