A series of auto transactions in Pulaski County added up to $41.5 million.

Affiliates of Little Rock’s McLarty Auto Group bought four auto properties from affiliates of Asbury Automotive Group of Duluth, Georgia.

The deals are funded with a $35.2 million loan from SunTrust Bank of Atlanta.

MAG-AR 4400 Landers Road LLC purchased North Point Ford at 4400 Landers Road and North Point Lincoln at 4336 Landers Road in North Little Rock from Asbury Automotive Arkansas Dealership Holdings LLC for $14.4 million.

The property was assembled in three deals:

• $11.5 million for the 14.39-acre dealership in May 2011.

Seller: NPF Holdings LLC, a McLarty family entity.

• $275,000 for a 0.28-acre parcel on Smokey Lane in November 2006.

Sellers: Adams Trust and the Credit Shelter Trust, both led by Alice Faye Adams.

• $141,000 for 1.62 acres on Newman Drive in July 2000.

Seller: An investment group composed of James Dietz, Hershel Bowman, Douglas W. Ashcraft; CBM Construction Co., led by Clark McGlothin; Dennis Jungmeyer; Hal Matthews; Rablaco LLC, led by Tom Cory; R-4 Enterprises Inc., led by Raymond Roberts; Seymour Real Estate LLC, led by Mike Seymour; Dow Worsham II; and Arkansas Precast Corp. of Jacksonville.

MAG-AR 4313 Landers Road LLC acquired North Point Toyota at 4313 Landers Road in North Little Rock from Asbury Automotive Arkansas Dealership Holdings for $12.1 million.

The 12.11-acre development previously was tied to an October 2013 mortgage of $5.5 million held by Toyota Motor Credit Corp. of Torrance, California.

Asbury assembled half of the property in deals totaling $2.3 million. The sellers were Fletcher Realty LLC, led by Frank Fletcher, $1.5 million for the 2.4-acre Frank Fletcher Chrysler Jeep location at 4313 Landers Road in January 2006; Davidson Holding Co., led by Skip Davidson, $1.38 million for 2.54 acres on Smokey Lane in March 2007; L&S Concrete Co., led by Charles Weaver, $772,000 for two acres on Smokey Lane in January 2006; and Joe Edd Hawkins, $75,000 for a 0.15-acre parcel on Smokey Lane in January 2006.

The remaining 4.97 acres are leased from MJG Family Ltd., led by Michael Goshen.

MAG-AR 4621 Colonel Glenn LLC bought BMW of Little Rock at 4621 Col. Glenn Plaza Road in west Little Rock from Asbury Automotive Arkansas for $12 million.

The 5.38-acre site was purchased for $4.2 million in July 2013 from LLEJ I, led by Leonard Boen.

MAG-AR 5500 Starita Drive LLC acquired North Point Collision Center North at 5500 Starita Drive in Sherwood from NP FLM LLC for $3 million.

The 4-acre development helped secure an October 2013 funding agreement of $75 million with Bank of America in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The project was bought for $2.5 million in June 2008 from Astar Asb Ar1 LLC of Dallas.

Quail Valley Sale
A 240-unit apartment project in southwest Little Rock weighed in at $3.7 million.

Quail Redevelopment LLC, an affiliate of Cross Equities LLC of Addison, Texas, acquired Quail Valley Apartments at 5300 Baseline Road.

The seller is Quail Valley Apartments LLC, led by Donald Marshall Jr.

The deal is financed with a three-year loan of $5.3 million from American Bank of Commerce in Wolfforth, Texas.

The 12.59-acre development previously was linked with an October 2014 mortgage of $2.8 million held by Southern Bancorp Bank of Arkadelphia.

The property was bought for $2.8 million in October 2014 from Quail Valley Ltd. of Clayton, Missouri.

Dollar Transaction
A Family Dollar Store in southwest Little Rock tipped the scales at nearly $1.37 million.

The Thomas E. Keyser & Gwendolyn Keyser Revocable Trust of Los Angeles purchased the 8,320-SF store at 3500 Baseline Road from FD Little Rock Arkansas Baseline Road LLC, an affiliate of the Atwater Group of Chicago.

The 1.96-acre development previously was tied to a February 2016 mortgage of $1 million held by One Bank & Trust of Little Rock.

The location was acquired 13 months ago for $149,000 from Robert Brook Properties LLC, led by Jon Luer.

Pinnacle Purchase
A 6,120-SF office building in downtown Little Rock changed hands in an $800,000 transaction.

Pinnacle Hotel Group Inc., led by Chetan Patel, bought the 119 Izard St. project from Nussbaum-Cockrill LLC, led by Alan Nussbaum.

The deal is backed with a five-year loan of $680,000 from Little Rock’s Bank of the Ozarks.

The 0.52-acre development previously was linked with an August 2002 mortgage of $680,000 held by Bank of America.

The location was purchased for $144,000 in 2002 from the namesake trusts of Dickson, Gordon and John Flake.

Hotel Land
A hotel project is in motion after a 1.78-acre site on the north side of Little Rock’s Gateway Town Center sold for $755,983.

Gateway Lodging LLC, led by Chetan Patel, acquired the land north of Bass Pro Parkway. The seller is Gateway Creek LLC, led by Isaac Smith.

The property previously was tied to a January 2016 mortgage of $6 million held by First Security Bank of Searcy.

Gateway Creek bought an 89.3 percent stake in the property 13 months ago as part of a $4.97 million deal with Town Center LLC, led by Tommy Hodges.

Jacksonville Acreage
A 75.5-acre tract in Jacksonville drew a $275,000 transaction.

Jack and Michelle Anderson purchased the land near the southeast corner of Military Road and Southeastern Avenue from Lone’s Jacksonville Inc., led by Shahlia Lone.

The deal is funded with a 20-year loan of $365,000 from AgHeritage Farm Credit Services of Little Rock.

The property previously helped secure a September 2012 mortgage of $224,000 held by Centennial Bank of Conway.

The land was acquired more than four years ago as part of a $281,000 deal with Arkansas Emergency Transport LLC, led by Roger Hosman.

Fourche Rock
A 16-unit apartment project in south Little Rock rang up a $150,000 sale.

Colonial Park RBG LLC of West Plains, Missouri, bought Fourche Rock Apartments at 4815 Mabelvale Pike from City National Bank of Los Angeles.

The bank recovered the 0.6-acre development from Little Rock Group LLC, led by Steven St. Clair, in April 2015 at a $150,000 foreclosure sale.

The property was purchased for $460,000 in December 2006 from NCK LLC, led by Linda Koubek.

Heights Home
A 3,992-SF home in the Country Club Heights neighborhood is under new ownership after an $840,000 transaction.

John and Betsy Walker acquired the house from the Roescheise Family Revocable Living Trust, led by Donald and Ethel Roescheise.

The deal is financed with a one-year loan of $672,000 from Bank of England.

The residence previously was linked with a December 2008 mortgage of $620,000 held by Regions Bank of Birmingham, Alabama.

The property was bought for $60,000 in May 1965 from Emma Rogers.

Riverbend Residence
A 3,180-SF home in Little Rock’s Riverbend neighborhood changed hands in a $710,000 sale.

Clifford Woods LLC, led by Mack and Donna McLarty, purchased the house from the Marjorie O. McLean Revocable Trust.

The property was acquired for $194,000 in 1991 from Virginia Bailey.

Seven-Digit Construction

Renovation    $1,809,476
H&E Equipment
2801 W. 65th St., Little Rock
Buquet-Leblanc Inc., Baton Rouge

Did you know that Lex Golden, the Little Rock banker who once controlled two Arkansas financial institutions, recently filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy?

The joint filing by Golden and his wife, Ellen, lists total assets of $1.9 million and total liabilities of $7.7 million. Most of that debt, $4.2 million, is owed to unsecured creditors.

The biggest secured claim is held by Chambers Bank of Danville, more than $2 million owed on a Yell County Circuit Court judgment against the Goldens back in July.

The Goldens guaranteed repayment of a $2 million loan in 2010 to help re-capitalize Acme Holding Co., the bankrupt holding company of Allied Bank.

You might remember that the $66.3 million-asset bank was taken over by regulators on Sept. 24 and sold to Today’s Bank of Huntsville with a negative bid of $6.1 million.

The Chambers debt is secured by a $5 million Sun Life Financial life insurance policy on Lex Golden with annual premiums of $63,645.

The second-biggest secured claim is held by U.S. Bank of Cincinnati, $719,933 tied to a first mortgage on the Golden’s home near the Country Club of Little Rock.

Unsecured Debt & More

The largest unsecured creditor listed is QF Holdings LLC, led by Walter Quinn: $2 million. The Goldens personally guaranteed the debt linked with their failed banking ventures, which includes Allcorp Inc.

Allcorp, the parent company of Community State Bank of Bradley, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July. Community State, with assets of $15.2 million, is the smallest bank in Arkansas.

By the way, a stock purchase agreement of unspecified value is in play for Allcorp with Dallas investors. Lex Golden, Allcorp chairman and CEO, owns 39.28 percent of the bank holding company as does his son, Alex, Allcorp president.

The Allcorp stock secures a $1.2 million loan to Heartland Bank of Little Rock. The Jan. 27 stock purchase agreement is subject to approval in bankruptcy court.

Back to the Goldens’ creditors: Everest Business Funding of New York got burned on a $109,765 loan made on Dec. 27.

The debt is described as a business loan to support Terry’s Finer Foods, which was in the early stages of eviction before it closed on Feb. 24.

The total debt associated with the grocery store, at 5018 Kavanaugh Blvd. in the Heights neighborhood of Little Rock, tops $500,000.

Simmons Bank of Pine Bluff has purchased the 12-story Acxiom Building in downtown Little Rock, and Acxiom Corp. will move its headquarters back to Conway, where it was founded, the two companies announced Friday.

The purchase price initially wasn't disclosed.

The acquisition of the 188,460-SF office building at 601 E. Third St. with its supporting five-story parking deck will allow Simmons to consolidate staffers and provide additional space for future growth.

"We have people all over Little Rock that we inherited when we bought Metropolitan National Bank and Delta Trust & Bank," George Makris Jr., Simmons CEO, told Arkansas Business on Friday. "It has become a logistical nightmare from a corporate communications standpoint."

Arkansas Business reported Simmons' interest in the property in a "Whispers" item in January.

The purchase will facilitate the consolidation of about 200 staffers scattered around town.

Most of those are on floors 11-14 at the Simmons Tower at 425 W. Capitol Ave. Three of those floors were occupied by Metropolitan National Bank, which Simmons bought in 2013.

The consolidation of offices is expected to take place over the course of the next year. Simmons will remodel and refit the building and begin moving associates from various central Arkansas offices to the new location.

The transaction involves the city transferring ownership of the 2.13-acre development to Acxiom, which will sell the land and building to Simmons. The property was held nominally by the city to facilitate a $17 million bond issue to finance construction of the project 15 years ago.

In a news release, Acxiom said all employees working at the building "will remain with the company, with a few transitioning to home-based work and a small number remaining in Little Rock." It said the majority of employees "will work from Acxiom's original Conway campus, which was built in 1969, the year the company was founded."

Moving workers from Little Rock will bring the number of employees at the Conway campus to about 1,500, the publicly traded data services firm said.

(Editor's Note: A correction has been made to this article. See the end of the article for details.)

The Conway Area Chamber of Commerce said Thursday it will raise public and private money for seven "generation defining" projects, including a startup space that Conway Corp. has said it will pay for.

The space, to be located downtown, will be called the Arnold Innovation Center, named for retiring Conway Corp. CEO Richie Arnold, who has led the utility for two decades.

An exact amount has not been pledged by the company yet, Chamber CEO Brad Lacy told Arkansas Business on Friday, because the center's downtown location has not been finalized. 

The other projects that are part of the Conway 125 fundraising campaign are:

• The renovation of the historic Grand Theatre at Oak and Chestnut streets into a new arts venue.
• An expansion of the city's existing trail system and new pedestrian overpasses.
• Splash pads at parks throughout Conway.
• Large-scale public art displays at roundabouts.
• New landscaping at interstate exits.
• Installation of 180 signs to guide visitors to destinations.

So far, the Arnold Innovation Center is the only project with funding.

"Conway Corp. will both host and power this historic initiative," Conway Corp. Board Chair Johnny Adams said. "The center's mission will be to connect entrepreneurs with critical resources to create, launch and grow businesses, creating jobs and wealth in our community. Much planning and dreaming has gone into this center over several years."

The center will feature programming by the Conductor, a public-private partnership at the University of Central Arkansas. Other partners include Cadron Creek Capital, the city, the chamber and Conway Development Corp.

Jeff Standridge, a co-founder of Cadron Creek Capital, said the center, along with the makerspace planned for UCA's Donaghey Building, would provide on- and off-campus help to entrepreneurs. He said it might also rent space at subsidized rates to startups. The center aims to help create companies in Conway and recruit existing firms to the city.

(Correction: A previous version of the story said Conway Corp. pledged a specific amount for the startup space, but a chamber official said that amount has not yet been determined.)

Shelia Cannon has been named a professional banker on the retail banking team at Stone Bank in White Hall.

She was most recently a branch manager at Simmons Bank in Pine Bluff and began her banking career with First National Bank of Altheimer.

Kimberly Shaw has joined Citizens Bank in Batesville as senior vice president of retail banking.

She has over 20 years of Arkansas banking experience and most recently served as senior vice president and retail sales manager with Eagle Bank & Trust in Little Rock.

See more of this week's Movers & Shakers, and submit your own announcement at ArkansasBusiness.com/Movers.

There has been growing public debate over how the Federal Reserve should conduct and communicate monetary policy. Some recent proposals, for instance, would require the Fed to specify a monetary policy rule that it would follow in adjusting the key policy rate (i.e., the federal funds rate target) and for the Fed to explain any deviations from that rule.

Questions abound about these proposals: Is the idea for the Fed to use only one rule or a suite of rules, each with its own strengths and weaknesses? Among a suite of rules, which ones should receive more emphasis? What does “follow a rule” mean for the Fed, and what are the implications for not doing so? And, what about when the policy rate is near the zero lower bound? Should the Fed be encouraged to follow a rule even if it means that the policy rate would be negative?

These are good questions, but the case in favor of monetary policy rules is also compelling. We cannot really talk coherently about the future evolution of the macroeconomy without also talking about the future evolution of monetary policy. The two subjects go hand-in-hand: A monetary policy rule helps to map out the path of policy consistent with an envisioned path for the macroeconomy.

In light of these considerations, my recommendation is for the Fed to issue a quarterly monetary policy report to better explain its actions and projections on a regular basis. Reports like this are often issued by other central banks around the world. The information in the report could be organized around recommendations from a standard suite of monetary policy rules. This could improve the U.S. monetary policy debate by orienting it more toward a comparison of actual policy to recommendations from standard monetary policy rules.

Many Rules Already Used
In recent decades, monetary policy rules have become standard in the macroeconomics literature. A policy rule, such as the Taylor rule, named after John Taylor of Stanford University, is an equation that provides a recommended setting for a central bank’s targeted interest rate. It is based partly on values and targets for macroeconomic variables, including inflation as well as output or unemployment. Policy rules are popular among many economists and policymakers — including at the Fed — because these rules, when applied, help provide an understanding about future monetary policy, which is in turn important to households and businesses making investment and consumption decisions.

Much Fed communication, some within the Fed and some directed to the public, already involves using policy rules as benchmarks. As an input for the deliberations at each Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, for instance, staff economists produce and distribute a briefing document to the FOMC known as the Tealbook. Publicly-released Tealbooks have included policy rate recommendations from a suite of monetary policy rules. Similarly, there are many examples of public remarks by FOMC participants in which actual policy outcomes are compared with the prescription from a monetary policy rule. That includes remarks by the FOMC chair. For example, Fed Chair Janet Yellen discussed in 2012 (when she was vice-chair) what a variant of the original Taylor rule had prescribed for monetary policy at that time. Another example is from 2010, when then-Fed Chair Ben Bernanke gave a speech that used a Taylor-type rule to argue that monetary policy had not been too accommodative during the period 2002-2006, which coincided with the housing bubble.

A Solution to the Communication Problem
Monetary policy rules have been and will continue to be useful as guides for conducting monetary policy. A rules-based quarterly monetary policy report could provide a more complete discussion of how the FOMC views the current state of the U.S. economy and the Committee’s expectations going forward. Such a report, which I have advocated in the past, could include a regular discussion of various monetary policy rules and explain why any deviations from those rules seemed appropriate at that time. This type of reporting may provide an improvement over the so-called “dot plot,” which is released each quarter in the FOMC’s Summary of Economic Projections and shows FOMC participants’ projections for the policy rate over the next few years. The dot plot does not allow the public to infer which policy rule any of the participants are using since individual dots are not connected across the years shown in the chart or to his or her projections for changes in real gross domestic product, unemployment and inflation.

Conclusion
The Fed has made significant strides in increasing the transparency of its actions since the financial crisis and recession of 2007-2009. Still, there is room for improvement, and further transparency regarding the Fed’s use of policy rules in its monetary policymaking is within reach. Because the Fed already uses policy rules in many ways to describe monetary policy and to make a case for a particular policy, the Fed could push its public communications more in that direction.

This commentary is reprinted with permission from The Regional Economist, a publication of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, where James Bullard is president and CEO.

Cash flow is the largest determining factor of a small business’ success or failure. Before a company opens for business, there should be a plan in place for managing cash flow.

Every company will experience a lull in sales, late-paying customers, a contract that didn’t come through or economic factors that affect the bottom line. When that happens, owners can be forced to cut costs or secure alternative funding. It’s critical to be strategic with processes and set expectations for customers from day one regarding your accounts receivable policies.

The first course of action is to work with a trusted bank that has treasury and cash management tools as well as the expertise to help small businesses succeed. A cash-flow chart helps entrepreneurs detail the money coming in and out of the business on a daily, weekly and monthly basis and can include capital expenditures for a snapshot of the bigger financial picture.

A CPA can provide information on how key cash-flow drivers are performing, as well as insight on any developing negative trends. Standardized invoice and accounting processes help avoid disruption in cash flow and can speed payment.

Business owners must keep a fluid calculation of their break-even point to remain acutely aware of minimum sales goals, how they must price products and when expenses are on the trajectory to outpace profits.

Among the strategies business owners should put into place to optimize cash flow include the following:

Gross margins. Know the industry standard for pricing the products your business offers. Set costs at a level at which the business can be the most profitable, while still maintaining good customer flow. There’s a balance among price, demand and business affinity.

Send invoices immediately. If you’re not selling smaller retail items like coffee, you should strive to send invoices within 24 hours after a sale. This gives the customer ample time to process the paperwork for payment.

Early payment discounts. Incentivize customers to pay early by offering a small discount, such as 2 percent off the total if payment is received within 10 business days.

Business line of credit. A line of credit can be a temporary safety net when businesses experience a large gap in cash flow. Be aware, though, that the time to get that line of credit is before you really need it.

Cash reserves. The cash flow chart is the compass for determining cash reserves needed during slow periods. A reserve equivalent to six months of cash flow is recommended.

Accounts receivable financing. To offset the deficit from late payments, businesses may consider invoice factoring, also known as accounts receivable financing. This is a borrowing option that lets businesses convert the balance of invoices that are not due for another 30, 60 or 90 days into immediate cash.

Manage inventory levels. Too much inventory will use up available cash. Purchase as little inventory as possible but make arrangements for quick delivery of additional inventory when supplies get low. Consistently cycling out old inventory will help promote active cash flow, but manage discounts carefully because they ultimately cut into the profit margin.

Control debt. As businesses grow, owners can get ahead of themselves and create unmanageable debt. There are healthy ways to leverage debt, taking us back to the point of creating a cash flow chart and working with an experienced financial adviser.

For every question about managing cash flow, there is a solution. Business owners have access to proven tactics and a variety of resources that can help them build, operate and grow their business efficiently and successfully.

Marcus Guinn is an executive vice president and loan manager at Arvest Bank in central Arkansas. Email him at MGuinn@Arvest.com.

A possible bank stock sale and details of a legal settlement are part of the bankruptcy narrative in the 66-page Chapter 7 filed by Lex and Ellen Golden of Little Rock.

The Feb. 27 petition, which lists total assets of $1.9 million and total liabilities of $7.7 million, alludes to a Jan. 27 stock purchase agreement for Lex Golden’s 39 percent stake in Allcorp Inc.

Golden, chairman of Allcorp, took the bank holding company into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July. Allcorp owns the $15.2 million-asset Community State Bank of Bradley, the smallest bank in Arkansas.

The would-be buyers of his Allcorp stock are listed as three Dallas trusts associated with Eric Donnelly, chief financial officer of Capital Plus; Chad Vose, president of Harbor Portfolio Advisors; and Farzana Giga, CFO of HPA.

The Allcorp bankruptcy contains no mention of the proposed deal, and the Goldens’ Chapter 7 provides no details.

Allcorp’s Chapter 11 was sandwiched between the April 2014 bankruptcy of another Golden bank holding company, Acme Holding Co., and the regulatory takeover and sale in September of its only significant asset, Allied Bank of Mulberry.

The Goldens’ Chapter 7 filing also contains information on a financial settlement with a former president of Allied Bank, John Hunter.

In October 2015, Hunter sued Golden, chairman and CEO of Acme, along with two trusts established for the benefit of Golden’s grandchildren. At issue were two delinquent $187,454 promissory notes owed by the trusts and guaranteed by Golden.

The notes were linked with Hunter selling his stake in Acme to the trusts in December 2011.

In May, Hunter received a combination of cash and property to settle the dispute: Allcorp shares worth $80,000 that belonged to a Golden grandchildren’s trust held in the name of Amy McCay Children’s Trust, a house on 17.8 acres in Franklin County and $10,000.

Ten Biggest Golden Debts

Chambers Bank, Danville
$2 million secured

Owed on a Yell County Circuit Court judgment against the Goldens in July from their personal guarantees on a 2010 loan to help recapitalize Acme Holding Co., the bankrupt holding company of Allied Bank. The debt is secured by a $5 million Sun Life Financial life insurance policy on Lex Golden with annual premiums of $63,645.

QF Holdings LLC
$2 million unsecured

QF Holdings LLC, led by Walter Quinn, a leading stockholder in Heartland Bank of Little Rock. Debt guaranteed by Lex Golden on a loan to Acme Holding Co., the insolvent holding company of Allied Bank. The $66.3 million-asset bank was taken over by regulators on Sept. 24 and sold to Today’s Bank of Huntsville with a negative bid of $6.1 million.

C-Holdings LLC, affiliate of Chambers Bank
$1.5 million unsecured

Debt purchased by C-Holdings, a loan from Southern Bank of Batesville to Acme Holding Co. guaranteed by Lex Golden.

U.S. Bank, Cincinnati
$719,933 secured

A first mortgage claim on the Goldens’ 4,600-SF home near the Country Club of Little Rock.

Estate of Gene Lewellen Sr.
$286,272 unsecured

Debt owed on the asset purchase agreement of Terry’s Finer Foods in January 2009.

Riverside Bank, Sparkman
$271,282 secured

Debt from an October 2016 loan of $355,528 guaranteed by the Goldens and secured by his 39 percent stake in Allcorp Inc., parent company of Community State Bank of Bradley. Lex Golden is chairman of Allcorp.

Riverside Bank, Sparkman
$255,775 secured

Debt secured by a 39 percent stake in Allcorp, which is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The stock is owned by their son, Alex, president of Allcorp.

Riverside Bank, Sparkman
$208,714 partially secured

Debt from a January 2015 second mortgage on the Goldens’ Little Rock home.

Citi Cards, The Lakes, Nevada
$111,736 unsecured

Debt owed by Lex Golden for the purchase of “business goods/services.”

Everest Business Funding, New York
$109,765 unsecured

Debt owed on a Dec. 27, 2016, loan to Ellen Golden for Terry’s Finer Foods.

Rumblings of a new funding agreement for the long dormant K Lofts development in downtown Little Rock have reached our ears.

A new loan from an Alabama lender was supposed to close last week, by March 10 at the latest. Of course, this same loan was supposed to close the week before that.

The current financier is mindful that timelines involving Scott Reed-related projects are often abstract rather than definitive.

Creek Capital Partners LLC, led by Fort Smith’s Steve Creekmore Jr. family, set a March 13 deadline to get the deal done or it would restart the foreclosure process.

You might recall that, in January, Creek Capital stepped to the front of the line of creditors by purchasing the project’s construction loan from IberiaBank of Lafayette, Louisiana.

During the summer, IberiaBank sued to recover more than $1.4 million owed on an original June 2013 loan of $1.3 million to Reed’s K Lofts LLC. That debt is backed with the personal guarantees of Reed, of Portland, Oregon, and Brian Corbell, of Los Angeles.

Nearly completed work on 32 apartments on the upper floors of the once-dilapidated five-story building at 315 Main St. awaits.

Economist Kathy Deck is leaving the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville to become the director of community and economic research partnerships at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa.

Deck, 41, has been the director of the Center for Business & Economic Research at the University of Arkansas since March 2007. Before that, she was the interim director for three months after Jeff Collins left.

Deck said the university would release a statement about her departure and any succession plans at CBER.

Deck is the lead researcher for the Arvest Bank-sponsored Skyline Report, which studies the northwest Arkansas real estate market, and serves as host and regional presenter at the annual Business Forecast Luncheon. Deck and her research team produce numerous economic research reports annually on Arkansas’ industries.

She was named a member of the Real Estate Industry Council of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

Arkansas Business recognized her as a “40 Under 40” honoree in 2009, when she was just 33.

Deck’s leaving is a family affair. Her husband, Cary, is taking an endowed chair position in the economics department at Alabama. Cary Deck has been an economics professor and director of the Behavioral Business Research Lab at Arkansas.

Cary Deck’s parents live in Tuscaloosa, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Alabama. Cary and Kathy Deck have one son.

“They made us an offer we couldn’t refuse,” Deck said. “It’s an exciting opportunity for us. Of course, we’re very sad to leave northwest Arkansas because we really love the place.”

Deck, a native of Virginia, earned her bachelor’s degree in economics from the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia before earning a master’s in science and economics from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. She was an antitrust economist for the attorney general of Arizona before she joined Arkansas’ CBER as a research associate in 2001.

George Gleason, 63, chairman and chief executive officer of Little Rock's Bank of the Ozarks Inc., received total compensation of $6.2 million during 2016.

While Gleason was the highest paid executive at the $19 billion-asset bank holding company, his one-year increase of 5.2 percent wasn't the biggest.

Dan Thomas, 53, vice chairman and chief lending officer and president of the bank's real estate specialties group, received total compensation of $4.7 million. That reflected a one-year gain of 13 percent.

Three of the top five executives at Little Rock's Bank of the Ozarks enjoyed healthy double-digit raises in 2016.

John Carter, director of community banking, received a 30.3 percent salary increase to $309,615. 

Greg McKinney, chief financial officer and chief accounting officer; and Tyler Vance, chief operating officer and chief banking officer; each received a 29.6 percent raise that boosted their annual pay to $594,615.

Gleason and Thomas each received a base salary of $1 million in 2015 and 2016.

The compensation information was included in the company's proxy statement that was released this morning and also noted the proposed addition of a new board member: Kathleen Franklin, 60, global ethics and compliance strategy leader for Sony Group since 2010. Franklin represents an expansion of the board back to 16 members after it stood at 15 last year.

The three largest stakeholders in Bank of the Ozarks are Willington Management Group LLP of Boston, 8.39 percent worth $558.9 million; BlackRock Inc. of New York, 7.68 percent worth $511.9 million; and The Vanguard Group Inc. of Malvern, Pennsylvania, 7.66 percent worth $510.5 million.

Among insiders, George and Linda Gleason control the largest collective block of stock, 4.98 percent worth $332.5 million.

This year's annual shareholder meeting will feature a new venue. Instead of the corporate headquarters in west Little Rock, the gathering will be held at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, May 8, at the Capital Hotel at 111 W. Markham St. in downtown Little Rock.

For the 24rd consecutive year, Arkansas Business is seeking nominations for its 40 Under 40 program, which recognizes 40 professionals under the age of 40 who excel in their profession and are leaving their mark on the Arkansas business and nonprofit community.

"This program provides Arkansas Business with the opportunity to not only honor our state's up-and-coming professionals, but identify those individuals who are helping shape Arkansas’ business, political and civic landscape," Arkansas Business Publisher Mitch Bettis said.

The 2017 class of 40 Under 40 honorees will be profiled in a future issue of Arkansas Business. Included in this issue will be a listing of their accomplishments within their businesses, organizations and/or community.

The deadline to nominate is Friday. Nominations can be made at ArkansasBusiness.com/40. For more information, contact Alex Howland at (501) 372-1443 ext. 314 or at ahowland@abpg.com.

George Makris Jr., 60, chairman and CEO of Simmons First National Corp., received total compensation of more than $2.4 million during 2016. That was almost 22.4 percent lower than 2015, according to information in the company's proxy statement released late yesterday.

Double-digit drops were reflected in all but one top executive at the $8.4 billion-asset bank holding company.

The total 2016 compensation of Robert Fehlman, 52, chief financial officer, and Marty Casteel, 65, senior executive vice president, each topped $1.1 million. That reflected declines of 20.2 percent for Casteel and 21.6 percent for Fehlman.

Barry Ledbetter, 54, executive vice president and chief banking officer, was the only Simmons First officer among the top five to receive in an increase in his total 2016 compensation. His combination of salary, stock awards and more totaled $819,752, a nearly 7.4 percent increase.

Patrick Burrow, 63, executive vice president and general counsel, received total compensation of $656,061 during 2016, a 12.8 percent reduction compared to 2015.

The base salaries among the top five executives were: Makris, $625,000; Fehlman and Casteel, $344,500; Ledbetter, $315,665; and Burrow, $271,310.

The two largest blocks of Simmons First stock are controlled by BlackRock Inc. of New York, 10.8 percent worth $192.4 million; and The Vanguard Group of Malvern, Pennsylvania, 7.57 percent worth $134.8 million.

Christopher Kirkland, 47, a real estate investor in Brentwood, Tennessee, who joined the Simmons First board in 2015, is the largest shareholder among company insiders. His 2 percent stake is worth nearly $36.4 million.

The Simmons First annual shareholders meeting will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, April 19 in the Ryburn Community Room at the company's headquarters at 501 Main St. in Pine Bluff.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve has raised its benchmark interest rate for the second time in three months and signaled that any further hikes this year will be gradual. The move reflects a consistently solid U.S. economy and will likely mean higher rates on some consumer and business loans.

The Fed's key short-term rate is rising by a quarter-point to a still-low range of 0.75 percent to 1 percent. The central bank said in a statement that a strengthening job market and rising prices had moved it closer to its targets for employment and inflation.

More: Read the Fed's complete statement.

The message the Fed sent Wednesday is that nearly eight years after the Great Recession ended, the economy no longer needs the support of ultra-low borrowing rates and is healthy enough to withstand steadily tighter credit.

The decision was approved on a 9-1 vote, with Neel Kashkari, the head of the Fed's regional bank in Minneapolis, the dissenting vote. The statement said Kashkari preferred to leave rates unchanged .

The Fed's forecast for future hikes, drawn from the views of 17 officials, still projects that it will raise rates three times this year, unchanged from the last forecast in December. But the number of Fed officials who think three rate hikes will be appropriate rose from six to nine.

The central bank's outlook for the economy changed little, with officials expecting economic growth of 2.1 percent this year and next year before slipping to 1.9 percent in 2019. Those forecasts are far below the 4 percent growth that President Donald Trump has said he can produce with his economic program.

In recent weeks, investors had seemed unfazed by the possibility that the Fed would raise rates several times in the coming months. Instead, Wall Street has been sustaining a stock market rally that began with President Donald Trump's election in November, buoyed by the prospect that tax cuts, an easing of regulations and higher spending for infrastructure will accelerate growth.

A robust February jobs report — 235,000 added jobs, solid pay gains and a dip in the unemployment rate to 4.7 percent — added to the perception that the economy appears fundamentally strong.

That the Fed is no longer unsettling investors with the signal of a forthcoming rate increase marks quite a change from the anxiety that prevailed after 2008, when the central bank cut its key rate to a record low and kept it there for seven years. During those years, any slight shift in sentiment about when the Fed might begin raising rates — a step that would lead eventually to higher loan rates for consumers and businesses — was enough to move global markets.

In 2013, then-Chairman Ben Bernanke sent markets into a panic merely by mentioning that the Fed was contemplating slowing the pace of its bond purchases, which it was using then to keep long-term borrowing rates low.

But now, the economy is widely considered sturdy enough to handle modestly higher loan rates. Inflation, which had stayed undesirably low for years, is edging near the 2 percent annual rate that the Fed views as optimal.

And while the broadest gauge of the economy's health — the gross domestic product — remains well below levels associated with a healthy economy, many analysts say they're optimistic that Trump's proposed tax cuts, infrastructure spending increases and deregulation may accelerate growth. Those proposals have lifted the confidence of business executives and offset concerns that investors might otherwise have had about the effects of Fed rate increases.

Yet for the same reason, some caution that if Trump's program fails to survive Congress intact, concerns will arise that the president's plans won't deliver much economic punch. Investors may start to fret about how steadily higher Fed rates will raise the cost of borrowing and slow spending by consumers and businesses.

The Fed typically raises rates to prevent an economy from overheating and inflation from rising too high. But throughout the Fed's history, its efforts to control inflation have sometimes gone too far — slowing borrowing and spending so much as to trigger a recession. Already, the current expansion, which officially began in 2009, is the third-longest in the post-World War II period.

The Fed's benchmark rate, after modest increases in December 2015 and December 2016 and again on Wednesday, is still quite low by historical standards. But if the Fed ends up raising rates three or four times this year and follows up with three additional hikes in 2018, its benchmark rate would be left at a level that might start to dampen economic activity.

(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Friday announced the formation of the blue ribbon commission to study how to grow the state's computer science and data analytics sector.

The 19-member commission, co-chaired by Acxiom Corp. founder Charles Morgan and Arkansas Economic Development Commission Executive Director Mike Preston, begins meeting later this month.

"This esteemed group of Arkansans, through their expertise and guidance, will allow the state to address the opportunities and obstacles we must address to create an environment in which our technology sector can thrive," the governor said in a news release. 

"This is the next step in growing the computer coding initiative as it will allow our higher education institutions and workforce development agencies to address the specific needs of Arkansas companies in the computer science and data analytics sector," he said.

Other members of the commission include Warren Stephens, CEO of Stephens Inc. of Little Rock; John Roberts, CEO of J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. of Lowell; Andrew Clyde, CEO of Murphy USA Inc. of El Dorado; and Clay Johnson, enterprise chief information officer and executive vice president for global business services at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of Bentonville.

The governor's office said the Blue Ribbon Commission to Report on the Economic Competitiveness of Computing and Data Analytics in Arkansas will "study opportunities to grow the sector of Arkansas' economy associated with computer science and data analytics."

Hutchinson has asked the commission to produce a report, due in the fall 2017, that addresses "business challenges in computing and data analytics, potential application niche areas for Arkansas to build excellence/depth in computing and data analytics and skill needs and challenges of Arkansas' talent pipeline."

Along with Morgan and Mike Preston, the commission's members are:

• Jerry Adams, Arkansas Research Alliance
• Donald Bobbitt, University of Arkansas System
• Charles Welch, Arkansas State University System
• Maria Markham, Arkansas Department of Higher Education
• Andrew Clyde,  Murphy USA
• Ed Drilling, AT&T Arkansas
• John Haley, Circumference Group
• Walter Smiley, formerly with Systematics
• Todd Hillman, MISO
• Rich Howe, Inuvo
• Sonja Hubbard, E-Z Mart
• Gaylon Lawrence, The Lawrence Group
• John Roberts, J.B. Hunt
• Jerry Jones, Acxiom
• Monica McGurk, Tyson Foods
• Warren Stephens, Stephens Inc.
• Clay Johnson, Walmart

A 74-bed assisted living center in west Little Rock weighed in at $14.07 million.

MHI Little Rock Ltd., an affiliate of Mainstreet Health Investments of Carmel, Indiana, bought the 43,988-SF Memory Care of Little Rock at Good Shepherd facility at 2501 Aldersgate Road.

The seller is MC-Little Rock AR-1 UT LLC, an affiliate of the Embree Group in Georgetown, Texas.

The 5.7-acre development previously was tied to a November 2014 mortgage of $9.5 million held by Metropolitan National Bank of Nashville, Tennessee.

The location was purchased for $745,000 in November 2014 from ERC Foundation Inc., led by Mark Davis.

CVS Transaction
A 13,536-SF CVS Pharmacy in southwest Little Rock changed hands in a $5.71 million sale.

Centennial Associates No. 1 LLC and Centennial Associates No. 2 LLC, both in Narberth, Pennsylvania, acquired the 8902 Geyer Springs Road project.

The seller is MC Little Rock AR Landlord LLC, an affiliate of SunTrust Equity Funding LLC of Atlanta.

The 2.31-acre development is backed with a $3.4 million loan from First Fidelity Bank of Oklahoma City. The location was assembled in three transactions totaling $2.08 million.

The sellers were the John Perry Trust, $880,000 in April 2015 for the Advantage Auto Parts store at 8902 Geyer Springs Road; APS Investment LLC, led by Avtar Momi and Satpal Kamboj, $800,000 in May 2015 for the Exxon Food Mart project at 6001 Baseline Road; and JV Holding Co., led by John Vice II, $400,000 in May 2015 for a 1.16-acre parcel.

Grill Acquisition
A 7,090-SF eatery in west Little Rock tipped the scales at $2.52 million. DB Triple Dipper Restaurant LLC, an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group of New York, purchased Romano’s Macaroni Grill at 11100 W. Markham St. from Centre Structured Trust 2 of New York.

The 2.64-acre development is helping secure a $70.4 million funding agreement with Wells Fargo Bank of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

The property previously helped secure a November 1997 mortgage of $10.5 million held by First Union National Bank of Charlotte, North Carolina.

The project was purchased for $2.01 million more than 19 years ago from Modernage Inc., an affiliate of Brinker International in Dallas.

Liquid Assets
A beverage project in Little Rock is under new ownership after a $1.65 million transaction.

Turner Holdings LLC, an affiliate of Hiland Dairy Co. of Springfield, Missouri, bought the 97,378-SF Shooting Star Beverages facility at 6921 Interstate 30 from the receiver for Clear Water Holdings LLC of Tulsa.

The 17.67-acre property helped secure mortgages totaling $13 million held by Simmons Bank of Pine Bluff.

Clear Water acquired the former Mountain Pure Water property as part of a $6 million foreclosure sale in October 2014. Simmons held a March 2014 foreclosure judgment of $16.7 million against Mount Pure.

The judgment was connected with a series of loans made by Little Rock’s Metropolitan National Bank and inherited by Simmons, which bought Metropolitan in a bankruptcy auction.

Warehouse Package
Warehouse property in south Little Rock rang up a $750,000 sale.

3200 Myers Street Partners LLC of Colton, California, purchased a 34,688-SF warehouse at 3015 Lewis St., a 30,360-SF warehouse at 3100 Elm St., a 9,500-SF warehouse at 4313 Asher Ave., a 6,500-SF warehouse at 4119 Asher Ave. and a 4,800-SF warehouse at 3013 Lewis St.

The seller is Moon Distributors Inc., led by Stan Hastings. The deal is financed with a three-year loan of $525,000 from Stone Bank of Mountain View.

The Hastings family assembled the properties in seven transactions with:

• The H.L. Remmel estate, $4,000 in September 1945 for the 1.22-acre 3100 Elm St. development, the 1.05-acre 3015 Lewis St. development and the 0.17-acre 3013 Lewis St. development.
• J.R. and Helen Rice, an undisclosed sum in August 1946 for the 0.16-acre development at 4119 Asher Ave.
• Marie Meyers Busch et al, $8,000 in November 1947 for the 0.31-acre development at 4313 Asher Ave. and a 0.57-acre property at the southeast corner of 31st and Cedar streets
• Fidelity Realty Co., led by E.J. Pope, $12,000 in March 1959 for a 1.16-acre property at the southeast corner of 31st and Cedar streets.
• Reva Moravec, Charlie and Beulah Henderson and Grady and Irene Hen-derson, $6,000 for a 0.32-acre parcel on Lewis Street.
• Alva L. Smith estate, $5,000 in August 1975 for a 0.17-acre parcel on Lewis Street.
• Verna Stinson, $4,000 in February 1997 for a 0.16-acre parcel near the southeast corner of Asher Avenue and Lewis Street.

Multifamily Sale I
Seven apartment buildings in North Little Rock drew a $600,000 transaction.

Johan and Juanita Adineh-Kharat acquired 33 units at 4905, 4909, 5001, 5005, 5009, 5101 and 5105 N. Walnut Road from Sharon Smith.

The deal is funded with a one-year loan of $1.3 million from First Arkansas Bank & Trust of Jacksonville.

The combined 1.94-acre property was assembled during July 1966 through July 1970 in seven transactions totaling more than $25,000 with Metropolitan Trust Co., led by Justin Matthews III.

Multifamily Sale II
A 24-unit apartment project and adjoining land in Little Rock sold for $435,000. Town Creek LLC, led by Randy Ferguson, bought the Mabelvale Apartments at 7414 Mabelvale Pike and a neighboring 1.2-acre parcel.

The seller is 133 LLC, led by Keith Jackson.

The combined 1.87-acre property previously was linked with a September 2011 mortgage of $467,500 held by BancorpSouth Bank of Tupelo, Mississippi.

The property was acquired for $550,000 in September 2011 from the Harold E. Tucker Irrevocable Trust.

Country Club Manor
A 5,012-SF home near the Country Club of Little Rock tipped the scales at $1.29 million.

Robert and Eliza Gaines purchased the house from Clark and Katherine Raborn. The deal is backed with a 30-year loan of $800,000 from IberiaBank of Lafayette, Louisiana.

The residence previously was tied to a May 2012 mortgage of $900,000 and May 2014 mortgage of $125,000 held by Quicken Loans Inc. of Detroit.

The property was bought for $360,000 in November 2006 from the Patrick R. Harding Revocable Trust.

Duclair Court
A 4,352-SF home in the Duclair Court neighborhood of west Little Rock’s Chenal Valley development changed hands in a $625,000 sale.

William and Mary Cavin acquired the house from the Suzanne Lindsay Bradshaw Revocable Trust.

The residence previously was linked with a June 2016 mortgage of $600,000 held by IberiaBank.

The property was purchased for $720,000 in May 2007 from Dr. Thomas Horn and Donald Levin.

Lamarche Abode
A 4,424-SF home in the Lamarche Place neighborhood of west Little Rock’s Chenal Valley development is under new ownership after a $530,000 transaction.

Steven and Ashley Smith bought the house from Phillip and Lauri Currier. The deal is funded with a 30-year loan of $424,000 from IberiaBank.

The residence previously was tied to a July 2006 mortgage of $370,000 held by Pulaski Mortgage Co. of Little Rock.

The location was acquired for $90,000 in April 2005 from Rangaswamy and Sabitha Govindarajan.

Seven-Digit Construction

Rodney Parham Storage Center    $2,200,000
9305 N. Rodney Parham Road, Little Rock
Rodney Parham Storage Center LLC, Fayetteville

Arkansans have repeatedly affirmed at the ballot box that they oppose predatory lending. Amendment 89 to the state Constitution caps interest rates at 17 percent, and in 2008, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel forced payday lenders to leave the state.

But two Arkansas legislators — Rep. Michelle Gray and Sen. Bart Hester — are trying to make it easier for predatory lenders to operate in Arkansas. State Sen. Jason Rapert, meanwhile, is trying to shut them down.

Within the past couple of years, one company, CashMax, has set up shop in the state, charging up to 280 percent interest on loans, as calculated under the federal Truth in Lending Act guidelines. The company calls the usurious rate “fees,” which, it says, are allowed under Arkansas law.

Gray’s measure would let “credit services organizations” offer guaranty services, for a fee amounting to interest rates far higher than 17 percent. Hester’s bill would allow fees on top of interest.

Rapert, however, has proposed Senate Bill 658, which would prohibit such fees. “The state of Arkansas has been very clear that predatory lending is not welcome in our state,” he said. “That meant the closure of what has been known as payday lending entities across the state and a stop to the predatory lending practices that we had seen happening — preying on poor individuals, down on their luck.”

Missing in action has been our current AG, Leslie Rutledge, who has been silent on the issue, despite receiving a complaint about CashMax months ago. And in January, state Sen. Jane English asked Rutledge for an opinion on whether CashMax’s fees count as interest. So far, there’s been no response from the attorney general’s office.

We support Rapert’s effort to fight predatory lenders and hope that Rutledge lends the proper legal support to the battle.

Meet five leaders in business and education who are influencing their industries, their communities and the future of Arkansas.

Darrin Williams
Southern Bancorp

Michael Poore
Little Rock School District

Judy McReynolds
ArcBest Corp.

Jeff Long
University of Arkansas

Laurence Alexander
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff

The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, which researches a number of economic issues, is the source for the accompanying chart, which tracks Arkansas’ unemployment rate from Jan. 1, 1976, through Dec. 1, 2016, when it stood at 3.9 percent.

The high point for unemployment in the state during these years occurred from December 1982 through February 1983, when it was 10.3 percent. This was immediately following the 1981-82 recession, which officially began in July 1981 and ended in November 1982, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research.

In the aftermath of the Great Recession — December 2007 through June 2009 — Arkansas’ jobless rate rose to 8.4 percent in January 2011, remaining there through May 2011.

The state’s current unemployment rate fell to 3.8 percent in January, its lowest ever.

Darrin Williams stepped into leadership at Southern Bancorp Inc. after coming to prominence as a successful Little Rock lawyer and state legislator.

As CEO of Southern Bancorp, Williams, 48, oversees blending the two worlds of a for-profit lender and a nonprofit community development financial institution.

The $1.1 billion-asset Southern Bancorp Bank of Arkadelphia, one of the largest rural development banks in the nation, helps support its charitable sister company, Southern Bancorp Community Partners.

After leading at Southern Bancorp for more than three years, Williams believes an unofficial title better defines his role: “I’m not a CEO,” he said. “I’m a CCO, chief cultural officer.”

He focuses his energies on promoting a unified vision and consistent internal branding of the organization, where traditional banking backgrounds are common among the employee roster. Helping accomplish this are 25 cultural ambassadors, staffers from around Southern Bancorp’s network who compose its Brand Council.

“Putting profits above people is what led to the 2008 financial meltdown,” Williams said.

While conventional loans are welcomed as part of the mix, stretching beyond the norm to make a difference is an accepted part of the risk analysis.

That is quantified in a 10-year goal of helping 10,000 people attain affordable housing through ownership, helping create and retain 100,000 jobs and helping empower 1 million customers to save and create wealth.

That last item looks particularly ambitious given Southern Bancorp’s current count of 80,000 bank customers. Williams isn’t daunted.

Helping people build net worth helps break the poverty cycle. To that end, even small things add up, such as helping people save more by preparing tax returns at no charge or providing a check-cashing venue for unbankable clientele with bad credit or no credit.

“We will give people accounts,” Williams said. “Some may not get overdraft protection because of a really bad credit history. We are willing to take chances on people other banks won’t. When it comes to loans, we try not to say no, but we may say, ‘Not yet.’”

On a recent Tuesday morning, Williams was extra stoked, energized after the equivalent of a revival meeting for do-gooder financiers on the other side of the world at the March 7-9 conference of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values in Kathmandu.

An on-the-ground tour of microlending successes in Nepal gave inspirational juice to a literal mountaintop experience in the Himalayas.

The big impact of small loans was a powerful lesson. Loans of less than $10,000 account for 55 percent of Southern Bancorp’s lending activity.

“It’s interesting to see that all across the world, although our financial institutions are different, the issues are so similar,” said Williams, the adopted son of a Church of Christ minister and his wife. “Our mission is poverty alleviation by making financing available regardless of privilege of birth or ZIP code.”

Most of the company’s 366 staffers are devoted to the bank, which operates in eight counties in southern and eastern Arkansas as well as nine counties in Mississippi.

On his watch, Southern Bancorp has struck several deals to expand its footprint on both sides of the Mississippi.

Regulatory-mandated divestiture prompted Pine Bluff’s Simmons First National Corp. to donate in 2014 a branch at Eudora in extreme southeast Arkansas. The $15.9 million-asset Bank of Bolivar County (Mississippi) was purchased for $1.1 million in December 2014.

Southern Bancorp is buying the $42.9 million-asset Farmers Bank of Hamburg (Ashley County) in a $4.5 million transaction.

The increased cost of operating in a post-2008 regulatory environment has created more opportunities for deals with small banks struggling for profit and seeking an exit strategy.

Supported by a mix of operational income and financial benevolence, the organization recorded a profit of $10 million through Southern Bancorp Bank in 2016.

“At the heart of it, we run a loan fund,” Williams said. “No margin, no mission. If we were a pure nonprofit, we would suck at it because we pay taxes every year.”

Williams was surprised when he was asked to be the CEO in 2012. At the time, he was heading toward his last term as a state representative and serving as managing partner at the Little Rock law firm of Carney Williams Bates & Pulliam PLLC.

“I was in the business of suing banks and public companies as a partner in a class-action practice. I told them, ‘Thanks, but no thanks.’”

But he did agree to join the board and reconsidered the CEO job in 2013 when his wife asked him what he would do if he could do anything.

“If I could do what I wanted to do, I would help people understand how to use money,” Williams said. “Every day, we’re helping people improve their lives.”

He had thoughts of running for Arkansas attorney general while serving as a Pulaski County state representative in 2009-14. He was well-acquainted with the office, having been chief deputy attorney general to Mark Pryor from 1999 to 2002.

“I would’ve loved the opportunity to serve, but I was able to serve the people of District 36 for three terms,” Williams said.

He was recognized nationally for his legislative work, including being named a 2013 Champion of Small Business by the National Capital Coalition and an Aspen-Rodel Fellow in Public Leadership by the Aspen Institute. Williams also was named as one of 12 state legislators from around the country as a Legislator to Watch by Governing Magazine.

Now, any political aspirations are subsumed by his Southern Bancorp work. “Never say never,” said Williams, a 1990 history graduate of Hendrix College. “I am a political animal, but I am a practical politician. I think I can do as much good and service for people where I am.”

He started building his leadership resume as student body president of Little Rock Central High School in 1985-86. Internships for Arkansas Secretary of State Bill McCuen and U.S. Sen. David Pryor accompanied his college years.

Work in the Office of the General Counsel for the Securities & Exchange Commission followed his law degree at Vanderbilt University and master’s in securities and financial regulation at Georgetown.

‘Good Business Sense’
Williams remains an advocate for improving the state earned income tax credit by modeling it after the federal program. It’s a move with an eye toward helping people climb the financial ladder on their way to moving into higher tax brackets.

“These are people who are working but struggling to make ends meet,” he said. “We gotta help folks who need help. We can’t afford not to. It makes good business sense.”

Williams, a member of the Democratic Party, was tapped to preside over the House of Representatives during the 89th General Assembly. That changed when Republicans won control of the House in the 2012 general election.

That partisan, power-changing event, which hadn’t occurred in 138 years, led to Williams becoming a former House Speaker-designate instead of the first black Speaker of the House.

“I’m going to be a footnote in the history of Arkansas,” he said with a laugh. “But the right thing happened.”

As Speaker pro tempore of the Arkansas House of Representatives in the 2013 legislative session, Williams said, he was able to carry the ball more effectively for health care reform.

“Had I been the Speaker, that would not have happened,” Williams said.

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