Since the beginning of the year, Melanie Steele has paid $1 million for a home in Chenal Valley; $385,000 for a house in Canal Pointe and $92,000 for the lot next door; $357,500 for a house in the Lakewood section of North Little Rock; and $80,000 for a house that she then moved off its lot in Indian Hills. All in cash. read more >

Add one more to the pile of suits stacked on the remains of Little Rock’s Henry Corp. The latest strike against the former property management group is a complaint filed against the company’s leader, David Henry, and his ex-wife, Madeline Henry, by Bank of the Ozarks. read more >

Not much has been written about the loan production office opened by Bank of the Ozarks in New York City, a decision that was announced last summer, so your Whispers staff thinks it’s time to introduce readers to the classy digs. read more >

Bank of the Ozarks Inc. of Little Rock completes its acquisition of Omnibank parent Bancshares Inc., a $301 million-asset holding company based in Houston. read more >

George Gleason, chairman, CEO and largest shareholder of Bank of the Ozarks Inc., was paid $4.3 million in total compensation last year and realized an additional $3.8 million by exercising stock options. read more >

The way Ross Whipple and George Gleason described it, the courting process between Summit Bancorp Inc. of Arkadelphia and Bank of the Ozarks Inc. of Little Rock was abbreviated. read more >

Bank of the Ozarks Inc. of Little Rock announces a $216 million deal to buy Summit Bancorp Inc. of Arkadelphia, continuing a streak of Arkansas bank mergers that began last year. The deal will also be the second big bank transaction for Summit CEO Ross Whipple, who sold Horizon Bancorp Inc. in 1998 for 3.2 times book value. read more >

In “Other Real Estate Owned” news (aka OREO), a Little Rock lender recently got shed of some residential holdings in Washington County. read more >

Net income at the Little Rock bank holding company was up by 13.1 percent during 2013. read more >

The cash purchase of Bancshares Inc., parent company of Omnibank, will expand the Texas footprint of Bank of the Ozarks in the Houston and Austin area markets. read more >

A year ago, when Greg McKinney was a finalist for CFO of the Year in the same large bank category, he predicted that Bank of the Ozarks Inc. would have scores more opportunities to bid on failing banks around the country. read more >

Bank of the Ozarks Inc. of Little Rock announces third-quarter net income of $22.4 million, up 16 percent from $19.3 million during the same quarter last year. read more >

Tyler Vance has been promoted to chief operating officer at Bank of the Ozarks Inc. read more >

Bank deposits in Arkansas declined by about a half-percent in the 12 months that ended June 30, according to the annual summary of deposits released Monday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Total deposits statewide dropped back to $53.1 billion, down $267.6 million in a year. read more >

Bank of the Ozarks Inc. of Little Rock completes its acquisition of First National Bank of Shelby, N.C., a $68.5 million deal the company first announced in January. read more >

Bank of the Ozarks reports a 6.8 percent increase in second quarter earnings. The $20.4 million performance compares to $19.1 million a year ago. read more >

Bank of the Ozarks Inc. of Little Rock said it plans to open a loan production office in New York City on Friday. read more >

Chad Necessary has been named senior vice president and information systems security officer at Bank of the Ozarks in Little Rock. Necessary has 17 years of experience in information technology. read more >

Of the 51 bank failures last year, at least 25 drew attention from Arkansas financial institutions, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. But only three resulted in winning bids by Arkansas lenders. read more >

His skills with PowerPoint may be rusty, but Bank of the Ozarks chairman and CEO George Gleason's ability to lead Bank of the Ozarks to record earnings in 14 of the past 16 years helps build a mountain of goodwill. read more >