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Oak Tree Financial Acquires Riverside Bank for $10.1M, Plans ExpansionLock Icon

1 min read

The $10.1 million purchase of Riverside Bank of Sparkman by newly organized Oak Tree Financial Corp. Inc. of Fayetteville closed on Jan. 3, Chairman and CEO Conner Eldridge told Whispers last week.

The change in ownership, first reported in October, is not the only change. Riverside has already hired Rob Robinson away from Simmons Bank of Pine Bluff to serve as president and chief operating officer.

With only two branches — in Sparkman and Little Rock — the $60 million-asset bank has been wildly profitable with a business plan centered on mortgage origination. Its return on equity was routinely at or above 20% in the years before the interest rate shock of 2023 put the brakes on homebuying and mortgage refinance.

Eldridge said the new ownership intends to continue the focus on mortgage origination but is continuing to raise money for anticipated growth, including in northwest Arkansas, where Eldridge lives.

In December, Oak Tree filed a Form D with the Securities & Exchange Commission showing that 55 investors had purchased $10.68 million in equity, a little over half of the $20 million available in the first offering.

Stephen Davis, who owned 47% of the bank and was CEO, is remaining with the bank as an executive vice president and is a shareholder and director of the new holding company, Eldridge said. Robert Dudley, formerly president of Riverside, will also remain with the bank as an EVP.

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