Crosses Cross Paths as CEO

The Bank of Eureka Springs has a new CEO, but the name on the door won’t change.

Long-time chairman and CEO, John Cross announced on April 14 he would be stepping out of the roll and promoting his son, Charles Cross, who was already the bank’s president.

“During his tenure at Bank of Eureka Springs, he has worked diligently and provided exceptional direction for this institution. He has certainly earned this position on the merits of his contributions over the past many years,” John Cross wrote in a statement.

The bank claims it is one of two banks in Northwest Arkansas that is still controlled by the same family that operated them before the stock market crash of 1929.

Specializing in commercial lending for the small businesses in Eureka Springs, the bank has increased its total assets by 41.6 percent to $109.8 million since 2000, and the total deposits have moved up 27 percent to $84.5 million in the same period.

The bank has three branches — two in Eureka Springs and one in Holiday Island — and is working on building a fourth in Berryville.

The Bank of Eureka Springs tied with Liberty Bank of Arkansas as No. 15 in terms of return on assets on the Business Journal’s annual list of largest banks, which begins here.