Berryville Bank Set to Break Ground

We’ve been telling loyal Whispers readers for some time that the Bank of Eureka Springs is going to open a branch in Berryville — well it’s finally set.

The bank, which is rebranding itself as Cornerstone Bank this fall, has a groundbreaking set for late August but will open a temporary location in that town on Sept. 15.

We’re told the Berryville bank will also have it’s own board and that two Berryville residents have already been named members, though our source stopped short of saying who just yet.

In the spring Charlie Cross, president and CEO, told the Business Journal that the new name and the Berryville expansion was part of a regional push.

The bank’s assets have slipped slightly, down 1.5 percent to $107.9 million as of March 31, compared with $109.5 million for a year earlier. And though we love what Eureka Springs does for the economy and allure of Northwest Arkansas, we all know that market is finite, so it makes sense for Cross to look beyond Carroll County.

On the up side, the bank had good showings in net income ($311,000 as of March 31, up 71 percent from a year prior) and in its return on assets (at 1.14 percent from 0.67 percent).

Cross would not say it, but he could have his eyes on some banks that may be ready to be acquired. At last check, there were 10 banks on the Arkansas State Bank Department’s official “Watch List.”