First Security opens second branch in Fort Smith, has plans for a third

Searcy-based First Security Bancorp is formally opening its second Fort Smith branch on Thursday (May 19), with preliminary plans to open a third area branch in Chaffee Crossing in 2024.

Thursday’s ribbon cutting is set for 10:30 a.m., at 7313 Rogers Ave., in Fort Smith. Door prizes, which include tickets to the Peacemaker Festival, will begin at 11 a.m. and continue to 1 p.m.

The branch, estimated to cost around $3 million, is a full-service location with four employees, according to Zach Ledford, the Fort Smith market leader for the bank. Construction on the bank began in April 2021.

The bank first entered the Fort Smith market in October 2018 with a location at 720 Garrison Ave., in downtown Fort Smith. The branch is in the building that once housed the Fort Smith Town Club, and is also home to the Rialto restaurant. Ledford said the bank now has 13 full-time employees in the region.

Ledford, a Fort Smith area native and five-year employee of First Security, said the bank has acquired property in Chaffee Crossing with plans to open a branch there in 2024. The opening could be in early 2024, Ledford said, depending on the construction schedule.

First Security has more than 1,000 employees in Arkansas. As of June 30, 2021, the bank had 81 offices in Arkansas and $6.054 billion in deposits, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The FDIC report showed the bank had $77.358 million in deposits in Sebastian County. In its home county of White County, the bank reported $1.124 billions deposits. Pulaski County has the largest deposits for the bank with $1.358 billion. The bank company reports $8.1 billion in total assets.