First Federal Plans New Bentonville Branch

Larry J. Brandt, president and CEO of First Federal Bank in Harrison, announced in early May plans for a second branch office in Bentonville. The new office will be located at 2501 East Central Ave., and will share a building with a new White Oak Station convenience store.

First Federal Bank already operates 16 full-service branches in northern Arkansas and is the 11th largest banking operation in the two-county area with 2.81 percent of the market out of 21 firms.

A spokesman for First Federal said its Northwest Arkansas deposits have grown 7 percent from the second quarter of 2002 to the first quarter of this year.

First Federal’s new, 1,500-SF branch will be a full-service location employing six people. Dennis Chastain, senior vice president and Northwestern Regional Manager, will manage the new office. He said construction has begun and the office is expected to open by mid-June.