Arkansas’ ROA Highest in Region

by Talk Business & Politics ([email protected]) 99 views 

In the third quarter of 2008, Arkansas banks collectively had a return on their average assets of 0.98 percent, ranking as No. 1 of the seven states in the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank’s Eighth District. The district includes all of Arkansas and parts of six other states.

Arkansas’ ROA was down 0.13 percent from the third quarter a year earlier. All states in the Eighth District reported lower ROA than the previous year.

Many banks measure success and performance by their annual ROA percentage. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. defines ROA as “net income after taxes and extraordinary items [annualized] as a percent of average total assets.”

For the same quarter, Little Rock-chartered thrift Pulaski Bank & Trust Co. had an ROA of 0.35 percent; Bank of the Ozarks had a 1.35 percent ROA; Fayetteville-chartered Arvest Bank had a 0.96 percent ROA; and Jonesboro-based Liberty Bank of Arkansas had a 0.72 percent ROA.

The collective return on average assets for the district was 0.52 percent, and the U.S. average was 0.44 percent.