Money Talk: Deltic Timber Adds Former NFL Quarterback, Texas Money Manager To Board

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DELTIC TIMBER ADDS FORMER NFL QUARTERBACK, TEXAS MONEY MANAGER TO BOARD: Deltic Timber Corp. has expanded its Board of Directors with the appointment of former NFL quarterback Bert Jones and a Texas money manager Lenore Sullivan.

Jones, owner and president of Mid-States Wood Preservers, LLC of Simsboro, La., will be designated as a Class III director and was appointed to the Board’s Executive Compensation Committee. The overall second pick in the 1973 NFL draft and Louisiana native once known as the “Ruston Rifle” is also a member of the Southern Pine Inspection Bureau Board of Governors, where he currently serves as Vice Chairman.

“Bert Jones’ many years of experience in running a wood products business will be a great benefit. It will provide an extended perspective of the industry to the Board, as it establishes the strategic direction needed for the company’s future growth,” said Deltic Chairman Robert C. Nolan.

Lenore M. Sullivan, managing director of Texas Women Ventures Capital Management, was designated as a Class II director and appointed to the Deltic audit committee. Sullivan also currently serves on the Board of Directors of HFF, Inc., where she is the chair of the Compensation Committee and a member of the Governance and Nominating Committee.

“(Sullivan’s) vast experience across many businesses, while serving in critical financial roles, will bring different perspectives to the company,” Nolan said. “Her capital markets perspective aligns with Deltic’s strategy of maximizing net asset value per share for its shareholders.”

FDIC SEEKS COMMENT ON PROPOSED DEPOSIT INSURANCE RULES FOR SMALL BANKS: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation board of directors has begun seeking comment on a proposed rule that would revise the way small banks are assessed for deposit insurance.

The proposed rule would affect banks with less than $10 billion in assets that have been insured by the FDIC for at least five years. It would update the data and methods that the FDIC uses to determine risk-based assessments for these institutions to reflect the FDIC’s experience during the recent financial crisis and earlier years. The proposed rule will be published in the Federal Register, with a 60-day comment period.

The FDIC has published an online assessment calculator that will allow institutions to estimate their assessment rates under the proposal.

HOME BANCSHARES BUYS ANOTHER FLORIDA BANKING INSTITUTION: Home BancShares, Inc., parent company of Centennial Bank, and Florida Business BancGroup, Inc., parent company of Bay Cities Bank headquartered in Tampa, Florida, announced merger plans in a transaction valued at $101.6 million. Under the terms of the agreement, Florida Business BancGroup will merge into Home Bancshares and Bay Cities will merge into Centennial Bank.

SBA CHANGES MICROLOAN PROGRAM RULES TO REMOVE BARRIERS TO FINANCIAL ACCESS: The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has published new rules that will provide more accessibility and flexibility to the agency’s microloan program, federal officials announced last week.

The rule change will open the door for small businesses with an owner who is currently on probation or parole eligible for microloan programs, aiding individuals with the highest barriers to traditional employment to re-enter the workforce. SBA’s Microloan Program is focused on startups, minority and other underserved markets, and provides loans up to $50,000 to help small businesses and certain not-for-profit childcare centers start up and expand.

STATE’S LARGEST CREDIT UNION HIRES THREE NEW EXECUTIVES: The Arkansas Federal Credit Union recently announced that it has added three new executive positions to the roster of the state’s largest financial cooperative, which has assets of more than $1 billion in total assets and over 95,000 members.

Eric Mangham was promoted to the role of senior vice president and CFO. Prior to joining AFCU in 2012, Mangham was a credit union examiner with the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA).

Valerie Erkman, who previously served in marketing roles at Arkansas Capital Corp., Windstream and Alltel, will service as vice president of marketing.  Alan Harrison, former senior vice president at The Capital Bank, will take on the role of vice president of member business services.

CREDIT CARD BALANCES RISE NATIONWIDE DESPITE INCREASED REDUCTION OF DEBT: Americans paid off $34.7 billion in credit card debt in the first quarter of 2015 while racking up a whopping $55 billion in additional card debt so far this year, according to an annual study on credit card debt by CardHub. The average household’s first-quarter credit card balance of $7,177 is the highest point in six years, according to the study. Read more here.