Simmons First National Shutters 12 Texas Branches in Strategic Consolidation Move

George Makris Jr. chairman and CEO of Simmons First National Corp. of Pine Bluff. (Karen E. Segrave)

For Pine Bluff’s Simmons First National Corp., 2024 was a year of winnowing bank locations and repositioning. As part of that shuffle, a dozen full-service branches in 10 Texas cities were shuttered.

That consolidation move reduced the count of Simmons Bank offices from 56 to 44 in the Lone Star State. The closings were highlighted by the $26.9 billion-asset lender exiting one of the largest markets in Texas: San Antonio, with total deposits of $167 billion.

“We only had two branches, not much of a presence,” said George Makris, chairman and CEO of Simmons. “Quite honestly, it was more of a distraction because there wasn’t much we could do to increase our presence.”

The bank’s two locations were home to deposits of more than $148 million, the 20th-largest market share among 51 banks in San Antonio. An hour’s drive northeast, Simmons closed its only location in Austin, a $47 billion-deposit market.

“You look at the size of those cities,” said Ed Bilek, EVP and director of investor and media relations and corporate insurance at Simmons. “What would it take to capitalize on that market versus capitalizing on other existing markets? It’s a matter of weighing opportunity costs.”

Simmons is targeting growth in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro and Houston suburbs, where it has closed several branches after opening new ones during the fourth quarter of 2023. The recent additions include new full-service offices in Dallas at 3309 W. Camp Wisdom Road and 2498 W. Illinois Ave.

“We look at traffic patterns, usage and proximity to existing branches,” Bilek said of the decision to close one location in favor of consolidating or opening in a new location.

Simmons Branch Closings in Texas

In July 2024, Simmons replaced its loan production office in Texarkana with a full-service branch at 4330 Saint Michael Drive.

In addition to San Antonio and Austin, two branches were closed in Fort Worth and one each in Dallas, Tyler, The Woodlands, Mingus, Palo Pinto, Weatherford and Seven Points.

All 12 of the closed branches in Texas were former Spirit of Texas Bank locations. The properties were among 38 offices acquired by Simmons as part of its $581 million purchase of Spirit, based in College Station.

That April 2022 transaction boosted Simmons to top 40 stature among banks in Texas with total deposits of more than $4.8 billion. In June 2024, the bank ranked No. 34 with total deposits of more than $4 billion.

The addition of Spirit also positioned Simmons as the Arkansas bank with the largest franchise in Texas.

“We needed new opportunities to grow, and I think we’ve accomplished that,” Makris said. “Even if we don’t buy another bank, this will give us tremendous growth opportunities for years to come.”

Simmons assembled its Texas franchise through a series of acquisitions that began with an October 2017 announcement. Its $462 million stock swap-cash deal for Southwest Bank of Fort Worth and its 16 full-service locations was completed in February 2018.

That was followed with July 2019 news of another investment in Texas. In February 2020, Simmons added seven Texas branches north of Dallas as part of the $434 million purchase of Landmark Bank of Columbia, Missouri.

After traveling the mergers and acquisition trail to expand, the focus has shifted to organic growth, Makris said.

“We sort of put any M&A plans on the back burner,” he said. “We think the markets we serve give us a lot of opportunities. We’re having great success in those markets.

“The Texas market is looking really good for us. Our boat’s pretty loaded from a growth standpoint.”