Arvest Bank Group remains the largest bank in Arkansas, based on an annual federal deposit report released Monday, and Bank of America jumped from sixth to second, adding $785 million in deposits.
Arvest has almost $7.2 billion in deposits in Arkansas or 12.7 percent of the market as of June 30, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said. Arvest's deposits grew about 8 percent from $6.6 billion in 2014.
Arvest dominates the state in deposits, said Randy Dennis, president of DD&F Bank Consulting Group of Little Rock.
Arvest is a retail bank, which concentrates a big portion of its banking on its nonbusiness customers, Dennis said. A retail bank has multiple branches, with more consumer-oriented services, Dennis said.
For example, Arvest Bank had $220 million more in checking accounts systemwide this year than in 2014, Dennis said.
Arvest has 118 branches in the state, 22 more than Regions Financial.
"We try to be a full-service bank for our customers," said Lisa Ray, chief executive officer of Arvest's Springdale market. "We always look to fill all the financial needs of our customers."
Arvest has grown even though the economy has been in a low interest rate environment for years, Ray said.
"I think people are really wanting to park their money where they think it's safest," Ray said. "We're not going anywhere. We're not changing hands."
Arvest Bank Group also is the third-largest bank holding company in Oklahoma with $4.6 billion in deposits and 5.6 percent of the market.
Bank of America had major growth in several different areas of deposits nationwide, said Diane Wagner, a spokesman for the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank. She didn't have specific information on how Bank of America increased its deposits in Arkansas, Wagner said.
"Bank of America still continues to be a place where customers can manage their finances," Wagner said. "What we are doing is focusing on our consumers and waiting for that relationship to develop. It may start out as a basic savings account or checking account but helping them as their needs change, such as becoming a first-time homeowner or having more liquidity to invest."
Bank of the Ozarks also saw a significant increase in deposits in Arkansas, rising by more than $600 million or 22 percent.
Bank of the Ozarks' deposit growth was attributable to serving its customers and the bank's reputation, Tyler Vance, the bank's chief operating officer, said in an email. It has had thousands of new checking accounts and other deposit relations added in Arkansas, Vance said.
Simmons First National, the state's fifth-largest bank with $3.5 billion in deposits, grew almost 8 percent in Arkansas in the past year after the purchase of Little Rock-based Delta Trust & Bank Corp., which had more than $365 million in deposits.
Pulaski County led the state in banking deposits this year with $12.3 billion, followed by Washington County with $4.4 billion, Benton County with $4.2 billion, Sebastian County with $2.6 billion and Craighead County with $2.2 billion.
Business on 09/29/2015