Arkansas Banks Set Pace in Regional ROA, ROE Rankings

In the third quarter of 2015, the average return on assets (ROA) for Arkansas banks was 1.25 percent, making it the top performer among the seven states that comprise the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank’s Eighth District.

The percentage represents a decrease of 0.2 percent in the state’s collective ROA from the third quarter of 2014.

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

Banks generally consider their annual ROA percentage a top indicator of their health and profitability.

Arkansas banks are also ahead of the Eighth District average of 1.05 percent and the national average of 1.03 percent.

For the same quarter, First Security Bank of Searcy had an ROA of 2.24 percent, Anstaff Bank N.A. of Green Forest had an ROA of 1.12 and Little Rock-based Bank of the Ozarks had an ROA of 2.15.

In the category of return on average equity, or ROE, Arkansas banks also rank first at 10.31 percent in the third quarter of 2015. That represents a decrease of 0.40 percent from the third quarter of 2014.

Arkansas is one of the three states in the Eighth District with an ROE of at least 10 percent, along with Missouri (10.26 percent) and Kentucky (10.08 percent).

ROE, as defined by the FDIC, is “annualized net income as a percent of average equity on a consolidated basis.”

The Eighth District ROE average in the third quarter of 2015 was 9.26 percent.

Among Arkansas banks, Paragould-chartered First National Bank had an ROE of 10.47 percent, The First National Bank of Fort Smith showed an ROE of 10.60 percent, and Legacy National Bank of Springdale had an ROE of 5.86 percent.