Collins Turns Down Seat on BOF Board

Officials at The Bank of Fayetteville found themselves in an awkward position on March 9.

The bank had been talking to Jeff Collins, executive director of the University of Arkansas’ Center for Business and Economic Research, about the possibility of becoming a director. Collins apparently agreed. So on March 1, BOF sent out proxy statements nominating him to be the 11th member of the board.

Late on March 8, however, Mary Beth Brooks, BOF’s president and CEO, got a phone call from Bill Curington, associate dean at the UA’s Walton College of Business. Curington told Brooks that Collins wouldn’t be allowed to serve on the board.

“Jeff has a lot of integrity,” Curington told the Business Journal. But sometimes the appearance of a conflict of interest can be as damaging as actual conflict, he said.

The CBER provides reports on economic conditions in Northwest Arkansas, the state and the nation. The CBER is also paid by Arvest Bank Group to produce the “Skyline Report,” a quarterly analysis of Northwest Arkansas’ real estate market.

Collins wouldn’t comment on the upset but said he had previously served on an advisory board for First Western Bank & Trust’s Fayetteville offices. That role, he said, was more about an economist’s observations and not director’s role, and it pre-dated the Skyline Report.

“I was certainly flattered by the invitation,” Collins said, “and I think Mary Beth and her crew do a great job.”

Brooks meanwhile, though disappointed about Collins, was saddled with about 400 incorrect proxies and a looming shareholders meeting set for March 28.

The bank is “semi-private” she said, and is therefore required to adhere to Securities and Exchange Commission rules about shareholder notification regarding proxies.

At press time, Brooks and her team were scrambling for their options.