Fed approves Chambers’ purchase, Arvest schedules visit with financial VIP

The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis has given its blessing to the merger of Northwest Community Bancshares Inc. of Fayetteville with Chambers Bancshares Inc. in a deal valued at nearly $5 million.

Northwest Community Bancshares is the holding company that owns Community Bank, and it would be the second Northwest Arkansas acquisition for Danville-based Chambers Bancshares. According to documents filed with the Fed, the Fayetteville company would be merged into Chambers’ subsidiary, Community Investment Inc., the holding company that owns Bank of Elkins. Chambers acquired that company in 1998 for $10.75 million in cash.

Shareholders of Northwest Community Bancshares would receive 67,907 shares, or 44 percent, of the stock in Community Investment Inc., according to Fed documents. That stock would be worth about $4.92 million.

Northwest’s chairman, Shell Spivey, says the deal still awaits approval from the Office of Thrift Supervision as well as from shareholders, who will probably vote in early March.

Founded in 1995, Community Bank hasn’t produced a profit yet, but it has assets of more than $50 million. Presumably, the merger would give Chambers more locations in Northwest Arkansas, a region where that company has indicated it wants a bigger stake.