Bank Branch Expansion Slows in NWA

Not surprisingly, fewer banks applied for new branches in 2008 than did in 2007. The total amount was down by a third, from 33 in 2007 to 22 in 2008.

That includes out-of-state branching by the likes of Arvest Bank Group Inc., which continued to branch out in Oklahoma and Missouri and was responsible for 10 of the 22 applications in 2008. But it does not include branching by national banks, like Legacy National Bank of Springdale or Metropolitan National Bank of Little Rock, which are not required to apply for branch applications with the Arkansas State Bank Department.

In both years there were two applications to open branches in six-county Northwest Arkansas market, down significantly from the heyday of 2005 and 2006.

Another interesting trend? Of the 39 applications filed with the ASBD in 2008, 10 fell under the “merger” type. That’s 25 percent.

In 2007 there were a total of 60 applications filed; only two were mergers.