Bank of Eureka Springs Plans Branch in Carroll County

The bank of eureka springs is branching into Berryville. An expansion plan long in the works will come to fruition this year when the Bank of Eureka Springs breaks ground on its new building on two acres just west of Berryville.
Bank president Charles Cross said the move was delayed while waiting on extensive market research in an effort to “make the most prudent decision on how we move in.”
The Bank of Eureka Springs has been the community leader since it opened in 1912 and commands more than 50 percent of the deposit market in the resort village.
It has three branches in the area -including a sparkling new 20,000-SF main office -and 5,400-SF branch recently opened in Holiday Island.
But the growth of northwest Arkansas as a region and a need to diversify has dictated a more aggressive path for the Bank of Eureka Springs.
Specializing in commercial lending for the multitude of small businesses in Eureka Springs, Cross and company have increased the bank’s total assets by nearly 40 percent to $108.4 million since 2000 and the total deposits have moved up 22 percent to $79.7 million in the same.
Cross said the agriculture-based economy of Berryville represents a new type of market and customer.
“It increases our footprint to attract more client base,” Cross said.
“That’s our hope and why we started this. We’ve worked hard in the last 10 years to grow our product with a community-minded bank and get this bank to the point where we have strong competitive advantage other communities will embrace.”
Cross said construction of the Berryville branch fronting Highway 62, near the Wal-Mart Supercenter, will begin this year and target a 2008 opening. It will likely be similar in size to the Holiday Island branch and cost between $1.5 million and $2.5 million.
The bank has further expansion plans in at least two other regional markets and research has already begun, but Berryville is the main focus now.
“We want to make sure we’re consistent in our offerings and our growth,” he said. “We have some ideas of what we can do to penetrate that market.”
The Bank of Eureka Springs is being very careful as it plans its expansion, and Cross said it has no plans to make rapid moves in multiple markets.
“Growing for growth’s sake can be dangerous,” he said. “If you think you’ll get ‘X’ percentage [of the market], you may make rash decisions that may not be in your best interest.”
From that perspective, the Bank of Eureka Springs has done quite well, Cross said.
“We have good asset quality,” he said. “We had very few problems in the last year with problem loans. When you look at asset quality from performance, our past-due ratio is 1 percent. All our numbers are trending favorably.”
“It’s a tribute to the people we have working here making quality loans,” he said.
While many banks outsource their operations, another advantage the Bank of Eureka Springs has as it moves forward is in technology.
The second floor of the main branch is largely devoted to the data center and the bank handles all its processing operations in-house.
The bank invested in new computers, imaging equipment, Internet banking and bill-pay capabilities.
“From an efficiency standpoint and customer service, it has paid for itself and will continue to as we bring more volume in,” Cross said.
From economics of scale standpoint, we’re diversifying and grabbing more market share but still doing it under one roof.”