Cross County pulls bid for bank buy
Cross County Bancshares of Wynne, which announced in June it would acquire Forrest City Bank, has withdrawn its application for the purchase.
David Dowd, chief executive officer of Cross County Bancshares, said the application with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis was withdrawn because the federal regulator was not likely to approve the purchase.
The reason, Dowd said in a prepared statement, was because Cross County's investment in another bank is at a level that the federal regulator considers it to be a subsidiary of Cross County Bancshares.
"Because of issues with this bank, apparently we are not allowed to engage in any expansionary activity," Dowd said in the statement. "This came as a complete shock to us."
Dowd did not identify the bank, but Cross County Bancshares owned 5.2 percent of Pinnacle Bancshares in Rogers as of Dec. 31, according to the Arkansas Bank Department.
Cross County Bank, a subsidiary of Cross County Bancshares, has about $200 million in assets. Forrest City Bank has about $50 million in assets.
-- David Smith
Decatur bank bought by Oklahoma firm
Grand Bancorp of Grove, Okla., has agreed to buy Decatur State Bank, a subsidiary of Chambers Bank of Danville, the banks said Friday.
The transaction is expected to close before the end of the year. Details of the deal were not disclosed.
Grand Bancorp owns Grand Savings Bank in Grove, which has about $240 million in assets. Decatur State Bank, which has locations in Decatur, Gentry and Siloam Springs, has about $145 million in assets.
Buying Decatur State Bank is a strategic move for Grand Savings, Guy Cable, vice chairman of Grand Savings Bank, said in a statement.
"We view Arkansas as a viable market for us to continue expanding our banking franchise, and Decatur, Gentry and Siloam Springs fit nicely," Cable said.
The sale allows Chambers Bank to focus on its markets in Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas River valley, said Mike Donnell, president of Chambers Bank.
-- David Smith
Arkansas Index falls 1.64 as 12 drop off
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, dropped 1.64 to 331.17 Friday.
Twelve stocks declined and five advanced.
PAM Transportation Services rose 1 percent in average volume.
Truckers ArcBest Corp. and USA Truck Inc. each lost more than 3 percent in heavy trading.
Total volume of the index was 22 million shares. The average daily volume for the week was 25.7 million shares.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 10/11/2014