First Security Bank Still At Top of ROA, ROE Lists

For the fourth straight year, Searcy-based First Security Bank topped both of the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal’s annual lists measuring bank performance — best return on assets and best return on equity.

The list of private banks doing business in the six-county market — Benton, Carroll, Crawford, Madison, Sebastian and Washington counties — is on page 20.

ROA, as defined by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., is “net income after taxes and extraordinary items [annualized] as a percent of average assets.”

FSB’s ROA as of Dec. 31 was 2.36 percent, the only number higher than 2 among the 29 banks on the Business Journal’s list.

United Bank of Springdale was second at 1.62 percent. The First National Bank of Fort Smith (1.59), Citizens’ Bank and Trust Co. of Van Buren (1.27) and Community First Bank of Harrison (1.23) rounded out the top five.

In terms of ROE, FSB was at 18.94 percent, easily ahead of Cornerstone Bank of Eureka Springs at 11.74 percent.

The FDIC defines ROE as “annualized net income as a percent of an average equity on a consolidated basis.”

The First National Bank of Fort Smith ranked third at 11.62 percent, followed by Grand Savings Bank at 11.59 percent and Citizens’ Bank and Trust Co.

GSB is chartered in Grove, Okla., but entered the market in November with the opening of a branch in Bentonville.