More Arvest Mergers Roll in with Approvals

Four Oklahoma banks are the latest Arvest Bank Group Inc. properties to get the formal nod to continue their merger with Arvest Bank-Fayetteville. Approval was granted March 22 by The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis which oversees the Eighth Federal District.

The Oklahoma Banks — WestStar Bank in Bartlesville, Arvest Bank in Shawnee, Arvest Bank in Duncan and Arvest Bank in Norman — are only the latest group of convergees among 14 banking operations that Arvest is consolidating into one charter.

All of Arvest’s banks, which include more than 130 branches in Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma and about $4 billion in deposits, will be merged into Arvest Bank-Fayetteville’s charter by June 13.

Held since 1871 by the former McIlroy Bank & Trust Co. in Fayetteville, the charter is the oldest in Arkansas. Arvest bought McIlroy in 1986.

Arvest State Bank in Tulsa, Arvest Bank in Lawton, Okla., and Arvest Bank in Rogers are the only three properties held by the chain that have not yet undergone the formality. Lawton was expected to be merged by the end of March, and the last two should occur in April.

Arvest, chaired by Jim Walton, is the largest locally based banking operation in Northwest Arkansas with more than $4.7 billion in total assets. Eventually, all of Arvest’s institutions will operate simply as “Arvest Bank.”