Home Bancshares Selling White River Stake

Perhaps you heard that Conway’s Home Bancshares Inc. wants to sell its 20.4 percent stake in Fayetteville’s White River Bancshares Inc.

Based on the announced price tag of $150 per share, that represents a block of stock worth nearly $20 million.

Home Bancshares invested a total of $14.7 million in connection with White River’s two stock offerings in January 2005 and 2006 and White River’s 2007 acquisition of Brinkley Bancshares Inc.

Coinciding with the proposed stock sale is a decision by White River Bancshares to begin handling its own data processing. White River took over those chores from Home Bancshares in September.

The in-house move will cost Home Bancshares about $300,000 in annual data processing fees.

Signature Bank of Arkansas was White River’s lone bank holding until the Brinkley buy, recorded a $393,000 loss through the first nine months of this year.

The bank tallied losses of more than $2.7 million in 2005, its first year of operation, and more than $1.9 million in 2006.

The combined staffs of Signature Bank and Bank of Brinkley total about 150. The combined balance sheets of the two banks yielded total assets of more than $506 million and total deposits of more than $426 million as of Sept. 30.

Bank of Brinkley recorded a $2.5 million profit during 2006 and nearly a $3 million profit in 2005.