Finance

Jonesboro, Craighead County show strong sales tax growth to start 2019

Craighead County and its seat Jonesboro set all-time sales and use tax collection records in 2018, and 2019 started off on a pace that shows no signs of letting up….

BancorpSouth posts record 4Q profits, back in acquisition game after regulatory pause

Tupelo-based BancorpSouth, which fell behind its Arkansas regional banking peers in asset-size during a three-year FDIC probe, on Wednesday (Jan. 23) reported record fourth quarter profits as it reboots its…

Brian Glenn named president of Bank of Gravett

Legacy Bancshares Inc. of Springdale officially announced the appointment Tuesday (Jan. 22) of Brian Glenn as president of Bank of Gravett. The Northwest Arkansas Business Journal previously reported Glenn’s appointment…

Simmons First 4Q and yearly profits well ahead of 2017, one penny below Wall Street views

Simmons First National Corp. Tuesday (Jan. 22) posted record fourth quarter profits that easily outpaced year ago results and closed out the year with another strategic acquisition that expanded the…

Labor Department to hold forum on state, federal minimum wage rules

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour division will present an educational forum in Little Rock at the end of this month to discuss recent developments within its Payroll…

U.S. regulators ask banks, financial institutions to work with shutdown workers

The five federal financial institution regulators and state regulators from across the U.S. are encouraging financial institutions to work with consumers affected by the federal government shutdown. The statement, which…

First National Bank of Fort Smith donates $1 million to renovate Hunt’s Park athletic fields

First National Bank of Fort Smith has donated $1 million to the campaign for the renovation of Fort Smith Boys and Girls Club’s Hunt’s Park athletic fields in Fort Smith….

Bank OZK tops Wall Street views with $115 million 4Q profit

Fourth quarter and yearly earnings for Bank OZK topped Wall Street expectations as the state’s largest banking group enters the New Year with a new name and high expectations following…

Home Bancshares 2018 net income tops $300 million

After celebrating 20 years in business at the beginning of the New Year, Home Bancshares Inc. ended 2018 with a string of 31 straight profitable quarters and assets of more…

J.B. Hunt expected to report 48% earnings rise, 16% revenue increase in fourth quarter

Lowell-based carrier J.B. Hunt Transport Services’ earnings should rise in the fourth quarter even though peak season was not as strong as expected and intermodal freight volumes were impacted by…

Farmers and Merchants to acquire Integrity Bank parent company

Farmers and Merchants Bankshares, Inc. and Mountain Home Bancshares, Inc. have executed a definitive agreement for Farmers and Merchants to acquire Mountain Home and its subsidiary, Integrity Bank. Terms of…

Arvest Bank passes $2 billion mortgage mark in 2018

Arvest Bank announced Tuesday (Jan. 15) that its mortgage division originated more than $2 billion in loans in 2018, the third time it has done so in its history. “From…

Kansas wealth management firm Prime Capital acquires Longer Investments of Fayetteville

Wealth management company Prime Capital Investment Advisors (PCIA) of Overland Park, Kan., has purchased the assets of Fayetteville-based Longer Investments Inc. PCIA announced Tuesday (Jan. 15) the new company will…

Building permit numbers nearly double in Jonesboro in 2018

Jonesboro’s building permit numbers experienced a remarkable turnaround in 2018, according to figures released by the city. About $288 million in commercial and residential permits were issued last year, nearly…

Crossland leading new Arvest Bank branch in Pinnacle Hills with $4.47 million permit

Construction work has started in Rogers on a new banking center for Fayetteville-chartered Arvest Bank. Crossland Construction Co. is using a building permit valued at $4.47 million to build the…

St. Louis Fed chief talks Trump, tariffs and timing on interest rates

St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard emphasized that a predicted global economic slowdown will create a pause in potential interest rate hikes and a need to closely monitor…

Venture Center, ICBA pick 10 startups for new ‘fintech’ program in Little Rock

Gov. Asa Hutchinson joined The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), the Little Rock Venture Center and a host of other city and state business and community leaders on Wednesday…

Arkansas banks pass federal regulatory evaluations in 2018

Priority Bank of Fayetteville was among 31 national banks, federal savings associations, and insured federal branches of foreign banks that have received a satisfactory or outstanding Community Reinvestment Act evaluations…

Zillow: Unpaid federal workers will owe $438 million in mortgage, rental payments in January

A new report by Seattle-based Zillow says the effects of the federal government shutdown on the housing market are wide-ranging and personal – putting thousands of unpaid workers nearly $438…

Duncan Baird selected to lead public employees retirement system

Governor’s aide and former GOP lawmaker Duncan Baird has been selected to lead the Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System (APERS), according to the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration and…