Money Talk: Bank Earnings Begin This Week Amidst Promotions, New Hires

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BANK EARNINGS BEGIN THIS WEEK
Conway-based Home Bancshares will be the first Arkansas-based bank to report earnings this week. Home Bancshares, parent company to Centennial Bank, will release its fourth quarter earnings on Thursday morning, Jan. 15.

Last week, the bank reported that Tracy French has been promoted to president and CEO of Centennial Bank. French replaces Randy Sims as president and CEO. Sims will remain CEO of Home Bancshares. French will report to Sims in his new role.

Thursday afternoon, Bank of the Ozarks will report earnings. The following Thursday, Jan. 22, Simmons First National Corp. will release its fourth quarter 2014 earnings.

The Pine Bluff-based bank announced last week that Little Rock businessman, Philip Tappan of The Purple Cow, is joining Simmons Bank as Executive Vice President of Financial Services with oversight responsibility for Simmons First Trust Company, Simmons First Investment Group and Simmons First Insurance Services, Inc., the bank announced Thursday. Tappan is a member of the Simmons Bank Board of Directors and previously served on the Board of Directors for Delta Trust & Bank.

ROD FORD-BACKED INVESTMENT GROUP TO HELP EARLY STAGE MID-SOUTH STARTUPS
For startup enterprises, there are typically three critical financing junctures as they launch, grow and accelerate: formation capital, seed funding, and growth investment.

XCelerate Capital – founded and managed by nGage Labs Rod Ford – has formed a new private seed stage venture fund focused on what many say is the toughest level for a new company to jumpstart financing.

XCelerate said the new private seed stage venture fund is focused specifically on investing and assisting founders of early stage technology companies. The firm will center its investments on Mid-South startups that “have transcended the idea stage and have already developed innovative first-generation products or services with a potential for rapid growth.”

Typically, an XCelerate investment will be around $250,000 into companies with 4 to 10 employees and revenues less than $500,0000, the group said. Read much more here.

MIKE SELLS: REPORT EXPLORES BANKING HABITS OF PROFESSIONAL MILLENNIALS
Marketing expert Mike Sells, CEO of the Sells Agency, dissects recent survey data involving “Professional Millennials” and their banking habits.

“The results of this nationwide study of more than 300 young consumers tell us that the majority of professional millennials have robust banking relationships with multiple accounts,” notes Sells.

“The majority understand the importance of saving, a trait their parents’ generation never fully embraced. It also shows that they are loyal, with more than two-thirds of those surveyed still banking where they did in college and over one-third still banking at their parents’ primary bank,” Sells added.

There’s more to this research. What could it mean to your business in terms of understanding Millennial behavior? Read much more here.