Arkansas
State Bank Department
State Banking Board
Meeting Minutes for
July 19, 2001
(updated August 21, 2001)
A regular meeting of the State Banking Board was held in the conference room of the Arkansas State Bank Department, 400 Hardin Road, Suite 100, Little Rock, Arkansas, at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 19, 2001. The following Board Members were present: Chairman Phyllis Kincannon, Vice Chairman Judy Loving, Board Members David Bartlett, Bob Douglas and Gus Rusher. Theodore C. Skokos, Sr. was absent. Representing the State Bank Department were Commissioner Frank White, Deputy Commissioners Don R. Clark and Candace Franks, Management Project Analyst Cynthia Nixon, Administrative Assistants II Barbara Mahoney and Marilyn Myers. Assistant Attorney General Tom Gay was present representing the Attorney General’s Office. Mark White, representing the Governor’s office, was also in attendance. No representatives from the media were present.
This was a regularly scheduled meeting of the State Banking Board. Notice of the meeting was mailed to each member of the State Banking Board on June 13, 2001. The notice was also given to the news media in accordance with State law.
Commissioner
Frank White opened the meeting.
Secretary Don R. Clark declared there was a quorum with five of the six
Board Members present. Commissioner
White opened the meeting and asked the visitors and guests to stand and
introduce themselves and who they represent.
He then turned the meeting over to Chairman Phyllis Kincannon.
Board
Secretary asked Jack Grobmyer, Department accountant, to come forward and
explain to the Board the “vendor form” required for AASIS to make expense
reimbursement. Each member was given a
form to complete.
First
on the agenda was consideration of the minutes of the April 19, 2001, regular
meeting. A motion was made by David
Bartlett, seconded by Judy Loving, to approve the minutes as presented. The motion carried and the Commissioner
concurred.
Gus
Rusher commented he was not receiving copies of the Board minutes. The Secretary stated he would follow up and
find out why.
Next
was approval of expenses for the Board.
A motion was made by Judy Loving, seconded by David Bartlett, to approve
the Board’s expenses. The motion
carried and the Commissioner concurred.
Item
four on the agenda was consideration of a charter amendment by First State
Bank, Conway, Arkansas, to adopt trust powers.
Richard Clark, President & CEO of FirsTrust, North Little Rock,
represented the applicant. He commented
he was there to answer any questions and explained the reason for the charter
amendment. A motion was made by Bob
Douglas, seconded by David Bartlett, to approve the charter amendment. Motion carried and the Commissioner
concurred.
Next
on the agenda was a charter amendment by First Arkansas Valley Bank,
Russellville, Arkansas, to change the corporate name of the bank to First
Arkansas Bank. A protest had been filed
against the amendment by First Arkansas Bank & Trust, Jacksonville,
Arkansas. Roy Reaves, Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer of First Arkansas Valley Bank, Russellville, had
submitted a letter to the Commissioner asking the hearing on the application be
postponed until the next Board meeting to provide time and opportunity to
resolve the issue of similar bank names.
Discussion ensued on possible methods to give notice to banks and the
general public concerning bank names.
The Commissioner stated the Department would come up with a procedure
that the Board could possibly adopt as a policy to resolve this problem. A motion was made by Bob Douglas, seconded
by Judy Loving, to postpone action on the application as requested until the
next Board meeting. Motion carried and
the Commissioner concurred.
Under
other business, the Commissioner explained to the Board the reasons for
increasing bank assessments. A letter
has been mailed to each state bank. [See copy appendage to these minutes.]
The
Commissioner commented the State Board of Finance had rolled $102.3 million of
the tobacco settlement money back in to 170 banks at 3.65 percent, for a
January, 2002, maturity. He noted that
both state and national banks who asked for funds were each given the same
amount.
He
informed the Board the Department is doing well, the move to new quarters is
now complete. Also, the overall economy
is starting to show signs of weakening – the examiners are struggling to stay
on top of this. Gus Rusher stated this is noticeable nationwide. Judy Loving commented in her area they are
seeing a large increase in bankruptcies.
David Bartlett stated he felt problem banks should be contributing more
to their regulatory agency as they take up more time and expense.
The
Secretary informed the Board they are
no longer required to submit an annual report and mission statement to the
Arkansas Legislative Council. During
the 2001 Legislative Session, Act 221 repealed Act 181 of 1997, effective
February 14, 2001.
With no further
business the meeting was adjourned.
