Finance

Arvest announces new role for former Bear State CEO Matt Machen

Fayetteville-chartered Arvest Bank has created a new operations role for Matt Machen — regional executive of enhanced banking services. Machen joined Arvest this year following its acquisition of Bear State…

Arkansas poverty rate 8th highest, median household income 3rd lowest

The percentage of Arkansas residents living in poverty is the eighth highest in the nation, while median household income in the state is the third lowest in the United States,…

Arkansas tax collections up broadly heading toward Christmas

Arkansas revenue collections through November continued at a healthy pace as new payroll additions and robust sales tax collections emptied into state budget coffers ahead of the holiday shopping season,…

Womack: Aside from Ryan, leaders didn’t support two-year budget effort

U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers, said the effort to create a two-year congressional budgeting process failed because it didn’t have the support of congressional leadership, because the threshold for passage…

Hathaway Group announces plans for former Transamerica building

Hathaway Group announced the acquisition and new occupancy plans for the Transamerica building in west Little Rock. Hathaway represented the buyer and will serve as property manager and exclusive leasing…

First National Bank of NWA hires Tanya Mims as Fayetteville market president

First National Bank of NWA (FNBNWA) has hired Arvest Bank Vice President Tanya Mims as president of its Fayetteville market. The position was created specifically for Mims with the addition…

U.S. economy keeps pace with 3.5% expansion in third quarter, BEA says

The U.S. economy expanded by another 3.5% in the third quarter and generated more than $20 trillion in economic activity as tax cut-fueled corporate profits jumped to their highest level…

Tax cut task force leader looking to avert Kansas, Oklahoma-like budget disaster

Incoming Senate President Sen. Jim Hendren, R-Gravette, said Tuesday (Nov. 27) that state legislators are studying “safety measures” for the upcoming legislative session to protect Arkansas from budget shortfalls that…

Bond.AI wins FinTech best of show

Little Rock-based BOND.AI, a human-centered AI platform for banks, recently won Best of Show at FinovateFall 2018. The conference is a major international FinTech event, which showcases cutting-edge banking and…

November sales tax revenue growth slows amid robust annual gain

The four largest cities in Northwest Arkansas have seen solid sales tax revenue growth throughout this year, but November revenue was tempered after the 10% gains in October. The cities…

Government climate change report says U.S. GDP under threat

A new federal government report warned that human impact on the environment is warming the planet, causing harsher natural disasters, and could lead to unknown negative impacts on the national…

Report: Black Friday online sales up 23%

A new report from Adobe Analytics indicates that online sales on Black Friday jumped 23.6% compared to a year ago. Adobe Analytics, which tracks 80 of the top 100 internet…

Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace enrollment period ends Dec. 15, adopts new approach this year

The Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace is in the midst of its annual enrollment period and, this year, the platform has adopted a new approach to signing up participants. Created to…

Simmons Bank to be title sponsor for Youth Entrepreneur Showcase

Simmons Bank will be the first-ever title sponsor of the Youth Entrepreneur Showcase (Y.E.S.), a business plan competition for fifth through eighth graders in Arkansas. The entrepreneurial education program has…

Gov. Hutchinson outlines $5.75 billion biennial budget, teacher raise and tax cuts chief priorities

Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Wednesday (Nov. 14) laid out his budget priorities for the upcoming 2019 legislative session that includes an average $4,000 annual raise for Arkansas teachers and a…

Arkansas Fintech Accelerator startups garner investments, international acclaim

Two startup firms that participated in the Venture Center’s 2018 Fintech Accelerator program have garnered significant early stage seed investments and international support to allow those companies to scale up…

BancorpSouth expands southern footprint into Alabama market

Tupelo, Miss.-based BancorpSouth Bank announced after the close of markets Tuesday (Nov. 13) that it has reached a deal to expand its southern footprint with the purchase of Merchants Trust…

Simmons First expands into St. Louis metro with Reliance acquisition

Simmons First National Corp. announced Tuesday (Nov. 13) a deal to acquire Reliance Bancshares in a cash and stock deal valued at around $214 million. Reliance has assets of $1.5…

Simmons Bank buys naming rights to Verizon Arena for $10.5 million

Verizon Arena announced Friday (Nov. 9) that Simmons Bank has acquired the naming rights to the 18,000 seat multi-purpose civic center located in North Little Rock for $10.5 million. The…

First Security Bank formally opens for business in the Fort Smith metro

The first office in the Fort Smith metro for Searcy-based First Security Bank held its formal opening Thursday (Nov. 8) at its 720 Garrison Ave. location in downtown Fort Smith….