First Bank Corp. of Fort Smith Announces Planned Merger

Fort Smith holding company First Bank Corp. announced Thursday it plans to merge its subsidiary institutions — The First National Bank of Fort Smith and National Bank of Sallisaw (Oklahoma) with The First National Bank of Fort Smith as the remaining charter.

 “We believe this merger will help us operate more efficiently, and allow us to better serve the needs of our customers,” Sam T. Sicard, president and CEO of First Bank Corp. and The First National Bank of Fort Smith, said in a news release.

Sicard added NBS would continue to operate in Sallisaw and Roland, Okla., under bank a local advisory board and bank president Michael Neer.

 “Our affiliation with First Bank Corp. over the last 22 years has brought a tradition of excellence and community service to the eastern Oklahoma banking market,” Neer said. “This merger will allow us to focus all of our time to serving our customers and community. Our Board of Directors, employees, and daily operations will remain the same, with our focus on continuing to provide the best service possible to our customers.”

The First National Bank of Fort Smith has 17 Branches in Sebastian, Franklin and Benton counties in Arkansas with $1.052 billion in assets as of June 30.

The National Bank of Sallisaw has three banking locations in Sequoyah County, Okla., with $111 million in assets as of June 30.

First Bank Corp. has consolidated assets of $1.5 billion. Subsidiaries of First Bank Corp also include Citizens Bank & Trust Co. (Van Buren), Brown-Hiller-Clark & Associates (Fort Smith) and Brown-Hiller-Clark & Associates of Oklahoma (Sallisaw).

The transaction is subject to the receipt of appropriate regulatory approvals and certain other standard conditions. It is anticipated that the proposed transaction, if approved, will be completed during the first quarter of 2014.

National Bank of Sallisaw will then be renamed National Bank of Sallisaw, A Division of The First National Bank of Fort Smith.