501 LIFE invited three financial institutions in Central Arkansas to share information with readers on their banks.
With concerns about the national economy, the banks were also asked to share their responses to the question – “In tough economic times, what do those living in the 501 need to know?
Centennial Bank
Holding company: Home BancShares Inc.
Date chartered: 1903 (chartered as the Bank of Holly Grove)
Bank president and CEO: Randy Sims
Board members: John W. Allison (chairman of the board), Robert H. “Bunny” Adcock (vice chairman), Jack Engelkes, Dale Bruns, Bill Farris Jr., Jim Rankin, Ron Strother, Randy Sims, Kevin Hester, Milburn Adams, Randy Mayor, Bill Brazil and Alex Lieblong (advisory member).
Number/location of branches: 16 locations in Conway, Greenbrier, Mayflower, Vilonia, Quitman, Searcy, and Morrilton, with 12 in southern Florida. In March, Cabot, Beebe, Ward, Jacksonville and Mountain View will be added. In June, the total will increase to 64 with the addition of Little Rock, North Little Rock, Maumelle, Bryant, Kingsland, New Edinburg, Fordyce and Rison.
Brief history: First State Bank was formed and opened Jan. 4, 1999, by John Allison and Bunny Adcock, because they felt the need for a locally-owned bank in Faulkner County. In three short years, FSB became the largest bank in the county. The growth has continued as First State spread over the Central Arkansas area. In December 2008, the name was changed to Centennial Bank so the sister banks across the state (and Florida) could be rolled together. This could not be done with the name First State Bank as there were other bank’s of this name in these markets.
Top three accomplishments in 2008:
1. Name change.
2. Record earnings.
3. Ranked nationally by many organizations for safety and performance.
Top three goals for 2009:
1. Keep asset quality in place.
2. Continue expansion as the other banks are brought under the charter.
3. Continue the goal to be a super community bank.
In tough economic times, what do those living in the 501 need to know:
The banks in Arkansas are typically in very good shape. The economy locally is in better shape than what is going on in other parts of the country.
Customers need to look for banks that have remained stable over time. Ask about FDIC insurance. Your bank should be well versed to explain any risks you may have.
Be wary of credit card offers and others that are just too good to be true. They probably are. Fraud is on the rise. Never give out your account information.
First Arkansas Bank & Trust
Holding company: First Arkansas Bancshares
Date chartered: 1949
Bank president and CEO: Larry T. Wilson
Board members: John Hardwick, John Davis, Mike Wilson, Kathy Roberts, Wetzel Stark, Cecil Alexander and Ted Belden.
Number/location of branches: 28, including Jacksonville, Cabot, Little Rock Air Force Base, El Paso, Austin, Sherwood, North Little Rock, Heber Springs, Concord, Damascus, Greenbrier, Pangburn, Quitman, Marshall, Greers Ferry and Guy.
Brief history: FAB&T is a family-owned, full service financial institution headquartered in Jacksonville. There are 28 banking centers located throughout Central and North Central Arkansas. FAB&T has a full service mortgage company, trust division and associated investment consultants.
Top accomplishments in 2008:
Launched a new, high-yield interest checking account which paid premium interest and refunded all ATM fees worldwide (assuming four simple requirements were met).
Launched MySpace and FaceBook pages, which allowed these pages to be used as community portals for customers. They could see all of the bank’s TV spots, listen to FAB&T radio commercials, view all of the bank’s community activities through pictures and videos, and even interact with the bank.
Top goals for 2009:
To continue to be innovative in products and services.
To continue to give customers the quality service they expect and deserve every time they choose to do business with FAB&T, whether in a one of the branches or online.
In tough economic times, what do those living in the 501 need to know:
That FAB&T is a safe and sound financial institution. The bank has been around for 60 years, and has strong capital, which allows FAB&T to weather the financial storms. The bank has a long history of conservative decisions, and people can feel confident that their money is safe with First Arkansas Bank & Trust.
First Security Bank
Holding Company: First Security Bancorp
Date Chartered: Feb. 6, 1932
Bank president and CEO: John W. Adams
Conway board members: Richard Arnold, Jack Bell, George Covington, Hal Crafton, J. Mark Ferguson, John H. Hawks Jr., Linda Linn, Dr. Robert B. Rook, Reynie Rutledge, Joe White and Mike Baldwin.
Number/location of branches: 64 banking centers statewide with 32 in the 501 area, including Conway, Heber Springs, Clinton, Griffithville, Greenbrier, Judsonia, Vilonia, Little Rock, Mayflower, Maumelle, Beebe, McRae, Cabot, North Little Rock, Pangburn and Searcy; plus Union Bank of Benton.
Brief history: In 1991, First Community Bank opened in Downtown Conway at 1001 Front St, Faulkner County’s oldest banking landmark which was built in 1918. The bank has grown from $12.8 million in assets in 1991 to over $412 million at the end of 2008.
During those years, the bank merged with First Security Bancorp and changed the name in 2003 to First Security Bank.
An additional nine banking centers have been added over the 18 years in and around Conway. The employee base has grown from seven to today’s 140 employees. Originally chartered in 1932, First Security today with over $2.5 billion dollars in assets and over $213 million dollars in capital is one of the state’s strongest and largest financial services companies providing banking, mortgage financing, public finance, leasing, trust and investment services.
Three top accomplishments in 2008:
Opening of the Mayflower Banking Center to better serve the many customers in southern Faulkner County.
Leadership in investing in Conway and Faulkner County:
Continued to be Faulkner County’s leading mortgage lender with more mortgages filed than any other financial institution.
Organized and led the Arkansas banking group with First Security Crew’s & Associates to finance Conway’s new $35 million dollar Hewlett-Packard location in The Meadows Office and Technology Park which will bring over 1,200 jobs to the area. Ended the year with record strong financial performance and excellent asset quality in the market in difficult economic times.
Goals for 2009:
Continue to provide banking services that exceed the expectations of customers with “Bank Better” award-winning personal service.
Open a new, expanded state-of-the-art Greenbrier Banking Center to meet the growing demands of a thriving economy in northern Faulkner County.
Provide the bank’s many customers with safe, secure and innovative financial products that help the community thrive.
In tough economic times, what do those living in the 501 need to know:
“I remain an optimist for Conway and Faulkner County for the days ahead for our local economy,” said John W. Adams, president and CEO of First Security’s Conway area. “We have been significantly blessed over the past few years and over the extended vision of Conway from the past. A community working together, creating a place to live and quality of life that others would want to be a part of, has led us to the attention of major employers.
“With the arrival of Hewlett-Packard, the continued amazing impact of the natural gas production and Southwestern Energy, and the solid existing employment base of education and health care, we hopefully will record a different story during this time than many parts of our nation.
“First Security is committed to seeing Conway and Faulkner County grow sensibly and safely to full vision of what we can be. It is an exciting time to be in Conway.”