Today’s Bank announces new chief executive; Larry Olson retires

Today’s Bank, the only bank in Arkansas that’s chartered in Huntsville (Madison County), announced Tuesday (Jan. 12) a new president and chief executive officer.

David Scruggs was promoted to the top management role in December, according to a news release. He succeeds Larry Olson, who is retiring after a 45-year banking career. Olson will provide transition assistance to the bank for a time, according to the release, and continues to serve as a member of the board of directors.

“I have certainly enjoyed my ten years with the bank,” Olson said in the release.

In conjunction with Scruggs’ promotion, he has been elected as a director on the bank’s board of directors. He will relocate to Fayetteville from Van Buren, where he spent the past four years as president of the bank’s River Valley market.

Scruggs assisted with the transition of the former Allied Bank branches into Today’s Bank in 2016, and led the opening of the bank’s newest branch in Van Buren. A graduate of the University of Arkansas and the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking, Scruggs has spent his 36-year career working in commercial lending and management roles at banks in Dallas and Little Rock.

Today’s Bank announced other promotions Tuesday to top leadership positions. Marviel Radcliffe of Fayetteville was appointed to serve as a director of the bank. She is currently the bank’s executive vice president and COO. Radcliffe joined Today’s Bank in 2002 and has held a variety of positions at the bank.

With more than 18 years of experience at Today’s Bank, Brittany Little was promoted from senior vice president level to executive vice president. She also added the newly-created role of the chief financial officer to her responsibilities in December. She will continue to serve as president of the Huntsville market and marketing director for the bank.

Nathan Hurst is the new president of the bank’s River Valley market. He spent nearly four years as senior vice president and commercial lender at the bank’s Van Buren branch. Hurst, a Van Buren native, has spent almost 16 years lending in the Fort Smith metro.

Chartered in 1991 as First State Bank of Northwest Arkansas — the bank rebranded in 2014 — Today’s Bank has ten branches in Northwest Arkansas and the Fort Smith metro. The bank had $284 million in deposits as of Sept. 30, according to the FDIC. That’s up 17.3% from Sept. 30, 2019.

Springdale businessman Sam Mathias is the owner of the bank’s holding company, Mathias Bancshares Inc.