IberiaBank to close
7 branches in state
IberiaBank, the Lafayette, La., bank that is the largest based in Louisiana, will close seven of its branches in Arkansas within the next 90 days, an IberiaBank spokesman said Tuesday.
The seven branches that will close include three in Little Rock, on University Avenue, Hardin Road and Colonel Glenn Road; on Second Street in Rogers; on Johnson Avenue in Jonesboro; on Kingshighway in Paragould; and in Marked Tree.
IberiaBank's 16 other branches in Arkansas will remain open, said Beth Ardoin, the bank's director of communications.
Overall, IberiaBank will close 22 branches this year. The bank will have fewer than 300 locations in the southeastern U.S. after the closings during the second and third quarters.
The move is part of IberiaBank's strategy to improve efficiency, especially as it progresses toward digital banking, the bank said in a statement.
IberiaBank entered Arkansas in 2007 with the purchase of Pulaski Investment Corp. and in 2009 with the purchase of Pulaski Bank & Trust, both of Little Rock.
-- David Smith
Walmart says hires
of vets top 200,000
Walmart Inc. has hired more than 200,000 veterans since unveiling its Veterans Welcome Home Commitment on Memorial Day 2013.
The company updated the status of its hiring initiative Tuesday and said it also promoted more than 28,000 veterans to roles with greater responsibility over the past five years.
Walmart's program guarantees a job offer to any U.S. veteran who has been honorably discharged since the announcement of the commitment in May 2013. The company's initial goal was to hire 100,000 veterans by the end of 2018, but the commitment has been expanded to 250,000 by the end of 2020.
The company also guarantees a job at nearby Walmarts or Sam's Clubs for all military personnel and military spouses employed by the company who move because they have been transferred by the military.
-- Robbie Neiswanger
State index off 4.51,
ends day at 423.54
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, fell 4.51 to 423.54 Tuesday.
"U.S. stocks sold off in the last hour of trading Tuesday as uncertainty remained over trade talks between the United States and China and as energy and industrial shares fell," said Chris Harkins, managing director with Raymond James & Associates in Little Rock.
Total volume for the index was 24.2 million shares.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 05/23/2018