OCC Releases United Bank of Springdale From Consent Order

United Bank of Springdale said Wednesday that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has terminated the cease-and-desist order the regulator placed the bank under in April 2012.

“I’m very proud of our employees and our board of directors, who have worked extremely hard and made a tremendous effort over the last few years to improve the bank’s condition, while continuing to serve our customers,” Nathan Gairhan, United Bank’s president and CEO, said in a news release.

“No banks were immune from the difficulties resulting from the recession and we are a stronger bank today than when this started.”

United Bank agreed to the cease-and-desist order last year. It replaced a 2010 order issued by its former regulator, the Office of Thrift Supervision. 

The 16-page order included eight areas for improvement. At the time the April order was made public, Gairhan told Arkansas Business that the bank had already achieve five of the eight improvement goals. Those goals included the reduction of problem assets and the implementation of policies and procedures to improve the bank’s loan portfolio management.

On Wednesday, United Bank said the OCC determined that it was in compliance with the order’s requirements. It also reported record earnings of $3.4 million for the nine months ended Sept. 30. 

With 145 million in assets, United Bank has two locations in Springdale and one each in Fayetteville and Rogers. The bank also has loan production offices in Conway and Tulsa, Okla. The bank was started 35 years ago by Don Pitts and has had the same ownership since it was founded.

“We have been fortunate since 2011 to have good, solid earnings, and the significant reduction of our problem assets has the bank well-positioned to grow our market share,” Gairhan said. 

Net income has grown from $1.9 million in 2011. And Gairhan said the bank’s “strong Tier 1 Capital ratio of 16.26 percent enhances the bank’s ability to pursue growth opportunities as they arise.”