BOZ Tops List of 2014 Regional Bank Rankings

Three of the top performing regional banks in the nation are headquartered in Arkansas, according to a financial information firm in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Little Rock-based lender Bank of the Ozarks Inc. was ranked No. 1 in rankings compiled by SNL Financial LC, improving on a third-place finish in the 2013 rankings.

Also on the list were Home BancShares Inc. of Conway at No. 3 and Searcy-based First Security Bancorp at No. 5.

The SNL rankings were based on the company’s 2014 results in six core financial performance metrics that focus on profitability, asset quality and growth.

The metrics used were: return on average tangible common equity, net charge-offs as a percentage of average loans, adjusted Texas ratio, efficiency ratio, net interest margin and loan growth.

For the purposes of this ranking, SNL defined regional banks as banks below $50 billion in assets with a branch network consisting of greater than 60 offices. Additionally, banks had to be well-capitalized according to regulatory standards. Based on these criteria, 101 companies were included in the ranking.