Change Coming After Bank Merger

Heard the latest joke?

Home Bancshares chairman Johnny Allison was so enamored with Liberty Bank of Arkansas’ dazzling new regional banking center in Fayetteville, he just had to have it.

So much so that he decided to pay $280 million for the entire banking company, Liberty Bancshares Inc.

Of course, that isn’t accurate, but the new building on Joyce Boulevard — which just opened to the public in early June — would be a terrific asset, and a great place to work, for any company.

Years of planning went into the structure, a culminating symbol of building the Liberty Bank brand in Northwest Arkansas.

So when the news was announced recently that Liberty Bancshares was to be acquired by Home Bancshares, parent company of Centennial Bank, our thoughts quickly turned to that sparkling new building.

Small Sting

After years of waiting for its arrival, it’s now just a matter of time before “Liberty Bank” comes off the edifice and “Centennial Bank” takes its place.

Even if it’s just a little, that has to sting for Howard Hamilton, Northwest Arkansas regional president and chief operating officer of Liberty Bank.

We asked. Did it?

“I’d be lying to you if I told you no,” he said. “We have a great deal invested in building the Liberty Bank name in Northwest Arkansas.”

Hamilton made it unmistakable — his reasoning is not acrimonious. It is completely harmonious. From the standpoint of supporting the acquisition and talking to his customers about the change, he is in accord with Home Bancshares.

That said, we understand if there is a small percentage of the man that felt saddened by the news.

“I’ve been using 90-10 [percent], but 95-5 is probably closer to it,” he joked. “We use the Liberty Bank name and flag, so yeah, that is the [sad] part for us.