5 banks acquiring 16 branch locations from Arvest
by October 1, 2021 2:03 pm 6,784 views
One of the state’s largest banks is selling off 16 branches to multiple buyers.
Fayetteville-chartered Arvest Bank has deals in place to sell the assets to Arkansas banks Cross County Bank (Wynne), Farmers Bank & Trust Co. (Magnolia), FNBC Bank (Ash Flat), Generations Bank (Rogers) and Oklahoma-based RCB Bank (Claremore).
All of the deals are pending regulatory approvals.
According to a joint news release distributed Friday (Oct. 1) by DD&F Consulting Group in Little Rock, the Arvest branches being acquired are:
Cross County Bank: Two Arkansas branch offices at 709 West Fleeman in Manila and 301 E. Drew St. in Monette.
The transaction is anticipated to close at the end of this year. At close, Cross County will have total assets of approximately $375 million and 10 branches in Arkansas.
Farmers Bank & Trust Co.: Seven Arkansas branch offices at 960 S. Constitution Ave. in Ashdown, 504 W. Collin Raye Drive in De Queen, 103 E. Third St. in Dierks, 214 N. First St., in Glenwood, 221 S. George St. in Mount Ida, 420 S. Main in Nashville and 205 E. Walnut in Paris. Farmers Bank & Trust will also acquire two Oklahoma branches at 409 S. Park Drive in Broken Bow and 702 S.E. Washington in Idabel.
The transaction is anticipated to close in the first quarter of 2022. At close, Farmers Bank & Trust will have total assets of approximately $2.3 billion and 32 branches in Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma.
FNBC Bank: Two Missouri locations at 1311 Porter Wagoner Blvd. in West Plains and 111 North Maple Ave. in Mountain Grove. These two locations will be FNBC’s first branches outside of Arkansas.
The transaction is anticipated to close in the first quarter of 2022. At close, FNBC Bank will have total assets of approximately $700 million and 13 branches in North Central and Northeast Arkansas and Southeast Missouri.
Generations Bank: One Missouri location at 12661 Missouri State Hwy. 13 in Kimberling City.
The transaction is anticipated to close in the first quarter of 2022. At close, Generations Bank will have total assets of approximately $740 million and 11 branches in South and Northwest Arkansas and Southwest Missouri.
RCB Bank: Two offices at 301 W. Fourth Ave. in Caney, Kan., and 810 E. Illinois Ave., in Vinita, Okla. The purchase also includes the ATM sites in each community.
The transaction is anticipated to close in the first quarter of 2022. At close, RCB Bank will have total assets of approximately $4.2 billion and 65 branches in 36 cities throughout Oklahoma and Kansas.
According to the news release, Arvest customers can expect to receive notifications from the acquiring banks in advance of the closing with information regarding account conversions.
According to the FDIC, Arvest will be left with 229 branches in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma once the branch selloffs are approved.
Arvest’s decision to sell branches is part of a strategy to decrease its brick-and-mortar footprint. Earlier this year, the bank announced it would close nearly 12% of its 270-plus branch locations this summer.
Arvest Bank provided this statement to Talk Business & Politics on Friday:
“As announced in March, Arvest Bank has been analyzing and considering adjustments to our branch network in response to ongoing changes in consumer preferences and behavior. Increased customer demand for advanced digital banking services leads us toward providing a balanced mix of enhanced digital and physical banking options. As a result, we have made the decision to sell a limited number of our branches.
“The purchasers are strong and community-focused organizations and we are committed to working with them to ensure a successful and beneficial transition for customers, associates and the communities.”
Earlier this month, Arvest announced a significant investment in its digital transformation initiatives: a partnership London-based fintech firm Thought Machine to implement a next-generation core banking infrastructure.