Arkansas
State Bank Department
State Banking Board
Meeting Minutes for
February 15, 2007
(updated August 9, 2007)
A special 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 November 16, 2006. The following Board Members were
present: Chairman Charles Mazander, Vice
Chairman David Short, Margie Russ, Marcus McCain, John Freeman, and Elmer
Flucht. Representing the State Bank Department
were Commissioner Bunny Adcock, Deputy Commissioners Luther Guinn and Candace
Franks, Financial Analysts Susannah Marshall and John Ashby, and Administrative
Assistants II Barbara Mahoney and Devan Adair.
Gwen Perkins from Bushman
Court Reporting was the recording reporter for the
applicants. No representatives from the
media were present.
A special 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 February 15, 2007. The
following Board Members were present:
Chairman Charles Mazander, Margie Russ, John Freeman, and Elmer Flucht.
[Vice Chairman David Short was called by phone and participated in the meeting
by a conference call.] Representing the State Bank Department were Commissioner
Bunny Adcock, Deputy Commissioners Luther Guinn and Candace Franks, Attorney
Brent Taylor, Financial Analysts Supervisor Susannah Marshall, Administrative
Supervisor Cynthia Nixon and Administrative Assistants II Barbara Mahoney and
Devan Adair. Cheryl Dees from Bushman Court
Reporting was the recording reporter for the applicants. Erica Gee was present from the Attorney
General’s office. No representatives from the media were present.
State
Bank Commissioner, Bunny Adcock, called this special meeting of the State
Banking Board. Notice of the special
meeting was sent by regular mail to each member of the State Banking Board on
January 5, 2007. The notice was also
given to the news media in accordance with state law.
Commissioner Adcock opened the meeting. Secretary Luther Guinn declared a quorum was
present. Commissioner Adcock then asked
the visitors and guest to stand and introduce themselves and state who they
represent. He then turned the meeting
over to Chairman Charles Mazander.
Chairman
Mazander announced the first order of business was election of a new Chairman
and Vice Chairman for the coming year. A
motion was made by John Freeman, seconded by Margie Russ, to elect David Short
Chairman and Elmer Flucht Vice Chairman for the year 2007. The motion passed unanimously and the
Commissioner concurred.
Next on the agenda was consideration of
the Minutes of the November 16, 2006, Special Board Meeting. A motion was made by Charles Mazander,
seconded by John Freeman, to approve the Minutes as presented. Motion carried and the Commissioner
concurred.
Next was
the approval of expenses for the Board.
A motion was made by Elmer Flucht, seconded by Margie Russ, to approve
the Board’s expenses. Motion carried and
the Commissioner concurred.
Next on
the Agenda was an application by Signature Bank of Arkansas,
Fayetteville, Arkansas
to merge Bank of Brinkley, Brinkley, Arkansas, with and into Signature Bank of Arkansas. Randy Dennis with DD&F Consulting Group,
Little Rock, Arkansas
represented and spoke for the application.
Mr. Dennis stated that the combined institution would be almost five
hundred million and that the consideration for the transaction was twenty-seven
million in cash and forty thousand shares of White River
Bankshares stock. He stated that
applications had been filed with FDIC and anticipated approval around March 15,
which would permit an April 1 closing.
Mr. Gary Head stated they were proud to have an opportunity to merge
with Brinkley, with an outstanding management team. Mr. Albert Rusher stated they had never been
interested in selling their bank but they listened when approached by Gary Head. He stated that they were merging into one of
the fastest growing banks in the state and would be able to fund loan
demand. Mr. John Freeman asked if the
bank would be able to retain the eighty-three percent market share. Mr. Rusher stated that work had already begun
to convince people that the merger would be the best thing for the
community. Mr. Mazander asked if
Signature Bank planned other acquisitions in Eastern
Arkansas. Mr. Head stated
they had not considered any thing more and wanted to focus on Brinkley and
hopefully be able to offer a few services that would be new to the market. A motion was made by Charles Mazander and
seconded by
Margie Russ to approve the merger application, the motion
carried and the Commissioner concurred.
Next on the
agenda was an application by Diamond State Bank, Murfreesboro, Arkansas,to
merge Arkansas Diamond Bank , Glenwood, Arkansas with and into Diamond State
Bank. Randy Dennis with DD&F
Consulting Group, Little Rock, Arkansas, represented and spoke for the
application. Mr. Dennis stated that the
purpose of the merger was to create a more efficient company with 11 branches
in Southwest Arkansas, with total holdings of three hundred forty-nine million. Mrs. Marnie Oldner stated that the merger
would bring the two banks together and
open the ATM network to all customers.
Mr. Freeman asked if the two boards would be merged. Mrs. Oldner stated that all board members
would be retained and some would retire over the next couple of years. Mr. Freeman asked what share of the market
was controlled by the banks. Mrs. Oldner
indicated over ninety percent in Glenwood, Murfreesboro,
Nashville, Dierks and Mineral Springs but a very
small percent in Hot Springs,
Hope and Mena. Chairman Short asked
about expansion plans beyond the current locations. Mrs. Oldner stated plans are to add maybe two
locations in Hot Springs
over the next year or two. A motion was
made by Mr. John Freeman, seconded by Mr. Charles Mazander to approve the
merger application, the motion carried and the Commissioner concurred.
Next item
on the agenda was a charter amendment for First State Bank, Russellville, Arkansas. A motion was made by Charles Mazander
seconded by Margie Russ to approve the charter amendment, the motion carried
and the Commissioner concurred.
The
Commissioner presented a legislative update.
Deputy Commissioner Candace Franks introduced Erica Gee from the
Attorney General’s office and department attorney Brent Taylor. She also discussed the new branching
act. Deputy Commissioner Luther Guinn
discussed problem banks and changes in examination frequency for all
