Arkansas Banks Exceed National Profitability Median
by August 24, 2009 12:00 am 66 views
Profitability among Arkansas banks is exceeding the national median, according to a recent five-quarter analysis by Sheshunoff & Co. of Austin, Texas.
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The investment banking firm also noted the ratio of non-performing assets to total assets of lenders in the Fayetteville metro area climbed to nearly 4.5 percent during the second quarter 2009.
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The Northwest Arkansas NPA of 4.45 percent ranked 29th out of the 30 metropolitan areas in a six-state region of Arkansas, Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Tennessee and Texas.
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“Are we coming out of the fog and headed toward better earnings?” writes Gary Kennedy, director of mergers and acquisitions at Sheshunoff & Co. “Second quarter net income results provide us with some hope for our Arkansas financial institutions.
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“The real key to this question is centered around the real estate market. Have banks recognized their losses and poor performing loans fully? Are there further dark surprises around the corner this fall?”