BOZ, Priority Ranked High for Equity Return

Little Rock-based Bank of the Ozarks was ranked the second best performing bank in the country by the ABA Banking Journal.

This ABA Banking Journal’s study focused on publicly traded banks and thrifts with more than $3 billion in assets as of Dec. 31 and ranked by return on average equity. The findings on the top 25 banks in the country were reported in the ABA’s May issue.

According to the magazine, BOZ had ROAE of 15.96 percent and only 0.76 percent of its total loans were considered nonperforming. The Bank of Hawaii Corp. was ranked No. 1 with an ROAE of 24.54 percent. According to the FDIC, BOZ had $3.22 billion in assets and operated 72 offices.

In the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal’s annual list of public banks published in April, BOZ was ranked the No. 2 by return on assets, with a 1.26 percent.

Bank of the Ozarks will likely not have as good a showing in 2009 due to a $10.5 million write down reported in an 8-K disclosure filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission on May 29. The write down is related to a foreclosure on loans with Fayetteville developer Gary Combs.

In the ABA Journal’s June edition, Priority Bank of Ozark was ranked the No. 1 “S” corporation thrift with an ROAE of 46.43 percent.

Priority was ranked as the No. 1 bank and thrift by the Business Journal in April with an ROA of 2.17 percent.