Arkansas 4Q ROA First in Region

In the fourth quarter of 2004, Arkansas banks collectively had a return on their average assets (ROA) of 1.19 percent, higher than the other seven states in the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank’s Eighth District. The district includes all of Arkansas and parts of six other states.

Arkansas’ ROA was up 0.08 percent from the comparable quarter a year prior.

Many banks measure their success by the amount of ROA they make annually. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. defines ROA as “net income after taxes and extraordinary items (annualized) as a percent of average total assets.”

The Northwest Arkansas Business Journal recently ranked the top Northwest Arkansas banks by ROA as of Dec. 31. Bentonville-based ANB Financial was No. 1 with 1.82 percent, Chambers Bank of Danville was No. 2 with 1.80 percent and Decatur State Bank was No. 3 with 1.73 percent. Of the banks that were open a full year, First Community Bank in Van Buren was last, with a negative 0.46 percent ROA.

The collective return on average assets for the district was 0.99 percent and the U.S. average was 1.34 percent.