FNB in Green Forest Goes to ‘S’ Corp.

The First National Bank in Green Forest has received approval from the Federal Reserve Bank and the Internal Revenue Service to convert from a “C” corporation to an “S” corporation. The change will be retroactive to Jan. 1.

The move will help the bank avoid state and federal taxes on disbursements, passing the responsibility of taxes on to the shareholders, said Stephen Stafford, CEO of the bank.

“You eliminate one level of taxation,” he said.

Stafford would not disclose the bank’s number of shareholders. It acquired Madison Bank and Trust in October, which added two branches, giving the bank a total of seven.

As of Dec. 31, First National had total assets of $285 million, up 15.55 percent from 2002.